LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 


A  TALE  OF  THE  NEAR  EAST 
BY 

A.  C.  INCHBOLD 

Author  of 

"Under  the  Syrian  Sun,"  "The  Road  of  No  Return" 
"Phantasma  "  "Love  in  a  Thirsty  Land,"  etc. 


NEW  YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1919,  1920,  by 
FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


LOVE  AND  THE 
CRESCENT 


CHAPTER  I 

SOME  ONE  was  uncommonly  restless  on  the  terrace  of 
the  hotel.  He  was  pacing  untiringly  to  and  fro 
though  the  night  was  very  warm  and  very  still.  His  step 
was  light  and  alert  and  the  supple  swing  of  movement 
was  charged  with  nervous  force.  He  walked  with  his 
head  thrust  forward  meditatively,  and  he  was  smoking 
as  if  for  a  wager  against  time. 

Chatter  of  voices  curiously  varied  in  tone,  laughter, 
and  the  tinkling  of  glass  and  coffee  cups  drifted  through 
the  open  French  windows,  sounds  that  contrasted  oddly 
with  the  superb  calm  and  crystal  atmosphere  of  the  open. 

For  the  locality  of  this  summer  hotel  was  on  a  highland 
plateau  of  Syria,  some  3,000  feet  above  sea  and  plain. 
The  matchless  prospect  around  was  of  billows  of  moun- 
tain ridges,  while  immediately  below  the  eye  a  pine 
strewn  slope,  scattered  with  huge  bowlders  of  rock,  slid 
almost  perpendicularly  into  a  deep  ravine.  Daylight 
would  show  in  its  depths  a  sturdy  stream  hurtling  its 
way  through  thickets  of  rose-laden  oleanders. 

A  lull  in  the  gayety  caught  the  walker's  attention. 

He  paused  opposite  one  of  the  glass  doors  and  stared 
into  the  lighted  interior.  He  stood  in  shadow  or  surely 
the  look  in  his  eyes  would  have  been  more  guarded. 

i 


2136-177 


2  LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

It  was  a  typical  French  physiognomy,  mobile  yet  strong, 
showing  a  play  of  expression  that  revealed  more  than 
ordinary  interest  in  the  scene  contemplated. 

A  number  of  lamps  shed  a  mellow  glow  into  every  part 
of  the  long  salle-a-manger  which  did  duty  as  salon  to 
the  hotel  guests.  The  red  of  the  Turkish  tarboosh  was 
conspicuous  at  one  long  table  where  a  number  of  men 
were  playing  loto. 

Near  the  table  a  distinguished  looking  Oriental,  in  the 
uniform  of  a  Turkish  general,  with  feet  tucked  up  and 
shoes  on  the  floor,  occupied  the  center  of  a  spacious  divan. 

He  was  a  strong-limbed,  lean  man  with  keen,  blue-gray 
eyes,  an  aquiline  nose,  a  red-brown  mustache,  long  and 
drooping,  and  hair  almost  black  under  his  fez. 

A  second  officer,  spectacled,  and  with  iron-gray  beard, 
sat  near  him  with  only  the  elbow  rest  between.  Both 
men  were  smoking  cigarettes.  Intermittently  they  ex- 
changed remarks  in  staccato  under-tones. 

Ahmed  Pasha,  the  younger  man,  was  on  his  way  to 
inquire  into  some  serious  disturbance  between  Moslems 
and  Christians  in  an  inland  Syrian  town.  With  his 
second  in  command,  Mahmoud  Pasha,  the  elderly  Turk 
by  his  side,  and  various  officials  now  seated  at  the  long 
table  with  a  few  local  notables,  he  was  making  a  half 
way  halt  on  his  journey. 

Flurry,  not  to  say  exaggerated  agitation,  among  the 
hotel  personnel  had  attended  the  unannounced  arrival. 
With  surprising  affability  His  Excellency  had  at  once 
given  orders  that  the  routine  of  the  day  should  not  be 
interrupted,  and  that  the  same  menu  in  preparation 
for  the  other  guests  would  also  serve  for  him  and  his 
officers. 

Dinner  was  over  but  Ahmed  Pasha  had  not  retired  to 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT  3 

the  suite  of  rooms  prepared  for  his  use.  He  remained 
cross-legged  on  the  divan  like  an  impassive  spectator  at 
a  play,  ostensibly  watching  the  excited  loto  players 
and  occasionally  tossing  a  remark  to  one  and  the  other. 

In  striking  contrast  to  this  desultory  interest  were  the 
piercing  side  glances  he  flashed  at  intervals  towards  an 
alcove  big  as  a  room,  occupied  apparently  by  Europeans. 

Mahmoud  Pasha's  attention  strayed  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, not  intermittently,  however,  but  with  sustained  and 
open  curiosity. 

One  group  in  the  alcove  was  particularly  animated 
while  watching  a  man  and  a  girl  draw  near  the  end  of 
a  keenly  contested  game  of  draughts. 

"There!"  exclaimed  the  girl,  speaking  in  French  as 
she  removed  two  captured  kings  from  the  board.  "How 
is  that,  mother  ? ' '  she  added,  turning  to  a  fragile  looking 
woman  with  auburn  hair,  sitting  beside  her  on  the  high 
backed  sofa. 

"Bravo!"  approved  Madame  Anna  Severin  in  a  low- 
toned  mellow  voice,  her  wistful  lips  parting  with  a  smile 
as  she  regarded  the  diminished  men  of  the  opponent. 
"You'll  have  some  pains  to  redeem  that  loss,  Herr 
Eosen." 

"It  is  nothing — nothing  at  all,  I  assure  you,  Madame. 
The  game  is  by  no  means  lost, ' '  was  the  optimistic  reply 
of  the  second  player  who  sat  on  the  opposite  side  of  a 
small  card  table  drawn  up  to  the  sofa. 

Herr  Otto  Rosen  was  a  German  of  typical  solid  build 
with  an  obstinate  jaw,  and  close  upright  hair  of  a  sandy 
hue  without  a  parting.  While  staring  at  the  board  he 
twirled  swiftly  the  points  of  a  thick  mustache,  which 
of  darker  shade  than  his  hair,  made  a  gash  across  his 
face,  standing  out  aggressively  on  either  cheek. 


4  LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

For  an  instant  Madame  Severin's  deep-set  eyes  looked 
at  him,  then  their  veiled  but  probing  gaze  traveled  round 
the  room  before  returning  to  the  embroidery  in  her  hands. 
Her  brow  was  troubled.  She  stole  a  glance  at  Veronica, 
who  appeared  totally  unconscious  of  the  bold  looks  of 
admiring  curiosity  flung  at  her  from  the  long  table  as 
well  as  the  divan. 

Yet  in  reality  Veronica  was  far  from  serene.  Small 
signs  of  mental  disturbance  were  visible  to  her  mother, 
who  pondered  over  their  origin.  For  the  clear  pallor 
of  the  girl's  cheeks  was  flushed  to  a  rose  pink.  Her 
eyes,  large  and  peculiarly  blue  beneath  their  fringe  of 
dark  lashes  were  almost  black  in  hue.  Their  gaze  was 
restless,  now  intent  on  the  game,  now  directed  suddenly 
to  the  door  or  flung  through  the  open  window  opposite 
into  the  velvety  darkness  beyond;  then  back  again  to 
study  the  disposition  of  the  draughts,  and  later  to  dart 
across  the  table  a  quizzical  yet  bewildering  glance  flick- 
ered with  gay  and  saucy  triumph. 

Once  without  knowing  it  she  looked  direct  into  the  eyes 
of  the  watcher  on  the  terrace.  He  moved  a  step  forward, 
then  with  a  resolute  movement  withdrew. 

Two  questions  were  driving  through  Veronica's  brain 
while  to  all  appearance  the  game  engrossed  her  attention. 

Why  had  Pierre  Marson  been  absent  so  long  ?  Where 
was  he  ? 

Two  hours  ago  the  bells  of  the  mountain  mule  train 
ringing  the  approach  of  letters  and  papers  had  broken  up 
conversation  of  a  very  intimate  nature  between  Pierre 
and  herself.  Directly  the  bells  became  audible  the  spell 
had  shivered  utterly  and  swiftly  as  a  pricked  soap 
bubble. 

She  had  known  he  was  waiting  impatiently  for  letters, 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT  5 

important  ones,  but  only  at  the  instant  of  his  apology  for 
leaving  her  abruptly  did  she  realize  how  slender  were 
the  links  of  intimacy  between,  and  how  little  each  one 
knew  of  the  other's  life.  Yet  so  ready  and  irresistible 
had  been  the  sympathy  between  them  even  in  the  first 
hour  of  acquaintance — only  three  days  earlier  by  the 
way — that  neither  a  longer  space  of  time  nor  its  bosom 
friend  propinquity  could  have  rendered  it  more  com- 
plete. 

Pierre  Marson's  seat  had  been  vacant  at  table-d 'hote. 
Veronica  had  reflected  that  probably  correspondence  had 
obliged  a  meal  in  his  own  room.  Surely  he  would  come 
back  before  the  evening  was  over. 

But  for  this  hope  Veronica  would  readily  have  given 
way  to  her  mother's  suggestion  of  withdrawing  to  their 
rooms  at  the  end  of  dinner. 

Instead  she  accepted  with  unusual  friendliness  Herr 
Rosen's  challenge  to  a  game  of  draughts.  As  German 
consul  in  the  distant  town  where  the  Severins  had  lived 
for  a  score  of  years,  he  was  not  only  on  a  familiar  foot- 
ing with  the  family  but  had  displayed  for  some  time 
all  the  stubborn  perseverance  of  his  Teuton  nature  in 
efforts  to  win  Veronica's  affections. 

She  was  certainly  desirable  to  any  man's  eyes,  a  strik- 
ing and  charming  figure  in  her  white  summer  frock  as  she 
reclined  with  languorous  grace  against  the  yellow  silk 
background  of  the  sofa.  Her  hair  was  very  black  and 
soft  and  abundant  while  her  skin  had  the  creamy  texture 
of  a  magnolia  petal.  Just  above  the  wavy  line  where 
the  hair  grew  thickly  about  about  her  low,  broad  forehead 
before  spreading  out  to  cling  with  tiny  tendrils  round 
her  ears,  a  band  of  ribbon  was  slung  in  color  the  same 
blue  as  her  eyes.  The  calm  lines  and  dignified  modeling 


6  LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

of  the  lower  part  of  her  face  were  of  a  distinctly  Roman 
type.  By  birth,  however,  she  was  Russian  on  her 
mother's  side,  and  her  dead  father,  Doctor  Nicholas 
Severin,  who  had  gained  his  skill  in  a  Paris  hospital,  had 
been  of  Armenian  parentage.  Such  grafting  of  race  is 
by  no  means  uncommon  in  the  near  East,  but  not  always 
are  the  human  flowers  which  spring  from  it  of  so  rare 
and  sweet  a  quality  as  Veronica. 

With  dismay  simmering  into  hot  rage  Pierre  Marson, 
still  stationary  on  the  terrace,  could  not  fail  to  notice  the 
magnetism  of  the  girl's  beauty  for  the  Oriental  guests. 
Like  all  men  who  know  their  East  he  could  appraise  the 
exact  value  of  their  admiration. 

Incensed  he  regarded  Madame  Severin.  What  did 
she  mean  by  submitting  her  daughter  to  such  an  ordeal  ? 
And  pray,  where  was  Veronica's  brother,  the  sober-faced, 
reticent  doctor?  Why  could  not  that  blind  ass  of  a 
Rosen  have  so  arranged  his  chair  at  the  table  as  to  screen 
his  partner  from  the  insult  of  such  glances  ? 

For  an  instant  Marson  meditated  a  dash  of  rescue  into 
the  room  to  carry  her  off.  Where?  Anywhere  as  long 
as  it  was  out  of  the  radius  of  that  Turkish  circle.  Then 
his  excitable  Gallic  blood  was  suddenly  cooled  by  the 
mental  reminder  that,  all  too  soon,  he  must  be  bidding 
her  good-by  with  small  prospect,  as  far  as  the  present 
house  could  foretell,  of  ever  seeing  her  again. 

What  right  then  had  he  to  interfere  at  all? 

He  stood  stock  still  another  moment  frowning  hard  to 
himself.  Then  he  walked  quickly  to  the  end  of  the  ter- 
race and  entered  the  vestibule  of  the  hotel.  The  manager 
was  busy  in  his  office. 

"How  long  are  your  new  visitors  staying,  Dimitri?" 
asked  Monsieur  Marson. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT  7 

Under  the  light  of  the  hanging  lamp  he  showed  up  a 
distinguished  and  noticeable  figure.  He  looked  very  tall 
and  big  in  his  white  linen  clothes.  His  eyes  were  dark 
and  keen,  and  he  had  the  clear  bronzed  skin  of  one  living 
much  in  the  open  air. 

"To-morrow  they  go  or  perhaps  after  to-morrow,  I 
cannot  tell,"  replied  the  Greek  with  a  propitiatory  ges- 
ture. "Monsieur  will  not  be  incommoded  as  he  is  leav- 
ing in  the  early  morning." 

"Not  at  all.  I  merely  asked  out  of  curiosity.  Any 
fresh  news  through  to-night?" 

"Unless  the  Moslems  are  playing  one  of  their  hidden 
games  they  are  holding  their  hands  for  the  moment. 
They  expect  the  Pasha  and  know  that,  being  a  just 
man,  he  will  protect  the  innocent  and  discover  the 
guilty." 

"It  is  all  in  the  Christians'  favor  then?" 

"You  have  said  it,  effendi,  but" — here  Dimitri's  face 
lengthened — ' '  doubtless  the  worst  is  yet  to  come. ' ' 

"Don't  imitate  the  raven,  Dimitri.  It  is  not  profit- 
able. Beisdes  peace  will  last  for  the  present.  I  am  a 
good  prophet." 

' '  Monsieur  has  perhaps  received  the  latest  telegrams, ' ' 
began  the  man  eagerly,  but  Pierre  was  already  swinging 
along  the  corridor  as  though  hastening  to  an  urgent 
engagement. 

Half  way  along  a  door  opened  and  the  man  whose  seem- 
ing neglect  of  his  womankind  Pierre  had  condemned 
stepped  into  the  passage. 

A  little  girl  with  floating  fair  curls,  and  a  delicate 
piquant  little  fece  with  brilliant  dark  eyes,  was  clinging 
to  his  arm.  She  was  slightly  lame,  and  it  flashed  upon 
Pierre  Marson,  suddenly  confronted  with  the  pair,  that 


8  LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

solicitude  for  his  motherless  girl  might  easily  blind  Nicho- 
las Severin  to  a  wider  responsibility. 

A  foregone  conclusion  not  entirely  just.  For  though 
Zia  possessed  the  most  devoted  of  fathers,  Doctor  Sever- 
in  's  output  of  that  intuition  and  sympathy  never  lacking 
in  the  born  healer,  was  instinctive  and  even  prodigal. 
Pierre  ought  to  have  seen  him  at  home  in  his  hospital,  or 
in  the  midst  of  daily  dispensary  work  when  the  ailing 
of  many  races — Arabs,  Bedouin,  Jew,  Armenian — all 
gathered  at  his  gate,  or  squatted  in  the  dust  of  the  road- 
side waiting  their  turn  to  a  hearing  and  treatment  that 
was  never  denied. 

On  the  other  hand  it  would  never  occur  to  Nicholas 
Severin  when  his  mother  was  at  hand,  to  meddle  in  a 
matter  of  propriety  touching  Veronica.  Besides  their 
code  of  feminine  etiquette  was  entirely  European  and 
not  Oriental.  It  was  as  absolutely  correct  from  his 
standpoint  for  his  mother  and  sister  to  brave  the  fire  of 
Turkish  curiosity  as  it  was  for  the  American  mission 
aries  forming  another  small  party  in  the  alcove.  His 
sister's  beauty  was  a  factor  that  a  brother  would  be  less 
likely  than  another  man  to  take  into  consideration. 

The  Armenian  strain  in  the  family  was  more  evident 
in  Doctor  Severin  than  in  Veronica.  His  eyes  were  un- 
mistakably Oriental,  full,  almond-shaped,  and  deep,  soft 
and  dark  as  a  midnight  sky.  The  nose  was  straight  and 
well  formed  with  sensitive  nostrils.  The  short  trimmed 
beard  and  hair  were  black  as  jet.  His  figure  of  medium 
height  was  slim  and  erect,  while  his  step  and  carriage 
had  the  ease  and  lightness  of  the  born  Oriental. 

The  slow-gathering  smile  with  which  he  looked  up 
evoked  a  curious  glow  of  response  from  Pierre's  eyes. 
It  was  so  strangely  like  the  smile  of  Veronica. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT  9 

"Hullo,  so  there  you  are  at  last,  mignonne,"  Pierre 
called  out  gayly.  "Where  have  you  and  the  good  papa 
been  hiding?" 

' '  Indeed,  we  have  not  been  hiding, ' '  said  Zia  earnestly. 
"Father  has  been  rubbing  my  leg  and  stopped  the 
aching. ' ' 

"That's  splendid,"  said  Pierre,  caressing  her  curls, 
' '  but  do  you  know  Meme  looks  as  if  she  missed  you.  Go 
and  cheer  her  up  while  father  comes  on  the  terrace  for  a 
little  air." 

' '  You  must  not  be  long,  papa, ' '  she  said,  imperatively. 

"Aunt  Veronica  is  playing  draughts  with  Herr 
Rosen,"  put  in  Pierre  artfully. 

"Oh!"  she  exclaimed,  drawing  in  her  breath,  then 
letting  it  escape  slowly  in  thrilling  anticipation.  ' '  Then 
he  will  have  to  play  with  me.  Father,  you  will  make 
him?" 

"By  holding  the  medicine  bottle  in  one  hand  and  a 
lancet  in  the  other,"  suggested  Pierre. 

Zia  stared  at  him  open-eyed,  then  with  an  access  of 
understanding  mirth  laughed  loud  and  shrilly. 

"You  funny  man!"  she  cried.  "I  shall  tell  him 
just  what  you  said." 

"Come  along  then,"  said  her  father,  "quick,  quick! 
I  shall  join  you  on  the  terrace  in  a  few  minutes,  Mon- 
sieur Marson." 

"Good  luck,  Zia!"  called  Pierre  Marson,  looking 
after  them. 

He  went  outside  again  and  began  to  walk  to  and  fro, 
but  leisurely,  and  in  a  less  preoccupied  mood.  A  glance 
into  the  salle-a-manger  again  held  him.  His  look  and 
bearing  were  those  of  a  man  curbing  a  strong  inclination. 

"To    what    good?"    he    muttered.    "The    ennui    of 


10          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

regret,  undoubtedly.  Divided  interests  are  out  of  the 
question  .  .  .  but  who  knows  .  .  .  later  ..."  and  he 
continued  to  look  steadily  into  the  room  with  an  expres- 
sion in  his  eyes  into  which  it  was  just  as  well  those  inside 
could  not  read  their  own  interpretation. 

' '  I  fear  you  are  remaining  on  the  terrace  solely  on  my 
account,"  said  a  voice  at  his  side. 

"Not  in  the  least,"  said  Marson,  turning  sharply 
round.  "Thank  you,"  he  added,  taking  a  cigar  from 
the  case  held  out  by  Dr.  Severin.  "The  Pasha  and  his 
following  interest  me.  That  is  all.  Yet  as  I  am  leaving 
to-morrow  I  wish  to  spare  myself  the  ennui  of  a  visit  of 
ceremony. ' ' 

"You  would  find  it  less  wearisome  than  you  imagine. 
He  is  quite  an  interesting  character  and  bears  an  excel- 
lent reputation.  People  have  great  faith  in  his  opin- 
ion." 

"So  Dimitri  told  me.    A  Turk,  I  suppose?" 

"No,  a  Kurd,  strange  to  say,  and  once  nothing  less 
than  a  brigand  of  might  and  note  like  so  many  of  his 
race. ' ' 

' '  A  brigand ! ' '  echoed  Pierre,  turning  shortly  to  scan 
with  kindling  gaze  the  keen-featured  man  on  the  divan. 

"Yes,  and  he  seems  to  have  been  influential  in  that 
career  as  in  this  his  latest,  the  judicial.  He  gave  so 
much  trouble  and  had  such  a  big  following  of  rebels  that 
the  late  Sultan  took  a  bold  step. ' ' 

"Abdul  Hamid  certainly  had  a  few  original  ideas," 
interposed  Pierre  as  they  began  to  pace  the  terrace,  Dr. 
Severin  speaking  in  a  subdued  voice  with  an  occasional 
swift  glance  around  as  if  to  see  they  were  still  alone. 

"Very  good  in  this  particular,"  he  said  dryly.  "He 
made  overtures  of  peace  to  Ahmed  Agha,  declaring  that 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          11 

if  he  would  renounce  the  life  of  brigandage  he  should  be 
received  into  the  Turkish  army  with  the  rank  of  major. 
Ahmed  Pasha  accepted  the  offer  and  soon  became  one 
of  the  finest  and  most  valuable  officers  in  the  service.  He 
is  universally  respected  and  feared  to  a  like  degree. ' ' 

"I  suppose  he  was  drafted  into  the  famous  Has- 
madieh  cavalry?" 

"To  start  with." 

"Had  you  met  him  before  to-day?" 

"Once  'he  paid  a  visit  to  my  hospital  when  passing 
through  Opella.  An  ancient  member  of  his  band  of  free- 
booters lay  dying  there  of  an  incurable  malady,  and  hear- 
ing that  his  old  agha  was  in  the  town  begged  to  see  him. 
I  made  the  request  personally  and  privately  and  Ahmed 
Pasha  yielded  to  the  wish  of  the  dying. ' ' 

"No  false  pride  then,  or  shame  shall  I  say,  to  cause 
him  to  wish  to  hide  all  evidence  of  his  earlier  career  of 
pillage  and  probably  murder?"  asked  Marson  shortly, 
for  some  occult  reason  feeling  keen  on  detecting  a  flaw 
in  the  panache  of  this  regenerated  bandit. 

"No  grounds  existed  for  shame  from  his  standpoint 
or  that  of  other  people.  On  the  contrary,  the  remem- 
brance has  invested  him  with  a  halo  of  amazing  wisdom 
and  military  skill  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  especially 
the  hill  folk." 

' '  I  hope  the  errand  on  which  he  is  bound  relates  only 
to  a  local  disturbance." 

"I  hardly  know.  There  are  so  many  incentives  in 
Asiatic  Turkey  to  stir  up  friction.  News  is  disquieting 
rather  than  otherwise,"  said  Nicholas  Severin  uneasily. 
"Since  Abdul  Hamid's  iron  grip  has  left  the  helm,  cer- 
tainty in  this  country  is  more  than  ever  an  unknown 
quantity.  Christians  of  Syria  and  Asia  Minor  generally 


12          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

are  acutely  alive  to  the  fact  that  unrest  in  Constantinople 
is  usually  the  prelude  to  local  massacres  under  the  faint- 
est pretext  .  .  .  especially  since  these  last  cursed  wars. ' ' 

"It  seems  to  me  that  once  the  young  Turk  party  is 
rid  of  military  stress  there  are  signs  that  they  will  then 
set  to  work  on  the  development  of  national  resources," 
said  Pierre,  confidently.  "Industry  and  agriculture 
once  in  full  swing  the  antagonistic  factions  will  cease  to 
agitate.  There  will  be  no  time  to  invent  and  circulate 
those  eternal  suspicions  which  create  the  disasters." 

''God  knows!"  said  the  doctor  with  an  accent  of 
melancholy  fatalism.  ' '  I  have  heard  many  promises  but 
lived  to  see  precious  few  fulfillments.  What  can  we  do 
without  railroads  for  instance?  Projects  for  making 
them  are  always  in  the  air,  but  how  many  are  there  that 
come  to  anything?" 

"The  Germans  seem  pretty  active  over  the  Bagdad 
railway  scheme  anyhow,  worse  luck,"  said  Pierre,  "  but 
one  or  two  others  are  going  straight  ahead  that  have 
nothing  to  do  with  them.  I  can  vouch  for  that." 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  Nicholas  Severin,  his  eyes  turning 
to  Pierre's  face  with  a  flash  darting  from  their  dark 
depths.  Had  he  spoken  out  what  was  in  his  mind  it 
would  have  been  of  plans  of  the  kind  approved  by  the 
Turkish  government,  past  and  present,  constantly  com- 
ing to  naught ;  of  extensive  surveys  and  long  reports,  and 
yet  nothing  accomplished ;  of  schemes  marching  to  appar- 
ent execution  and  then  the  working  of  them  proving 
barren  through  broken  or  neglected  promises.  For  did 
not  hurry  make  of  man  a  slave  when  all  the  future,  free 
and  limitless,  lay  ahead? 

' '  For  that  very  reason,  now  this  seeming  lull  has  set  in, 
I  can  delay  my  journey  no  longer,"  continued  Marson, 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          13 

earnestly.  "The  papers  for  which  I  was  waiting,  my 
various  passports  and  permits  are  now  all  secured.  I 
start  early  to-morrow." 

' '  You  expect  to  be  away  a  year  I  think  you  said. ' ' 

' '  Just  about !  For  my  mission  and  its  practical  devel- 
opment cannot  be  hurried.  There  is  only  one  thing  that 
could  check  me.  That  is  war,  which  is  always  more  or 
less  in  the  air  these  days.  Also  local  difficulties  may 
arise.  Arabs  in  the  interior  may  not  all  be  friendly. ' ' 

"Backsheesh  is  the  price  of  their  good- will  and  the 
ready  solvent  to  obstacles  they  push  in  the  way." 

"Unless  others  have  been  first  in  the  field.  Those 
Germans  crop  up  everywhere.  But  what  have  we  here  ? ' ' 
said  Pierre,  stopping  suddenly  as  they  passed  one  of  the 
open  windows. 

' '  Not  only  a  just  ex-brigand  but  a  strict  devotee  to  the 
Moslem  faith,"  and  he  threw  up  his  head,  laughing 
noiselessly. 


CHAPTER  II 

ONE  minute  earlier  a  Turkish  orderly  had  entered  the 
salle-a-manger  carrying  a  small  rolled  carpet.  Near 
the  divan  of  the  pashas  he  unfolded  it  on  the  floor, 
salaamed,  and  then  stepped  noiselessly  to  one  side,  where 
he  remained  still  as  a  statue. 

Ahmed  Pasha's  impassive  face  became  suddenly  dis- 
turbed by  an  uneasy  quiver  as  his  neighbor  on  the  divan 
got  up  with  folded  hands. 

A  few  hurried  words  in  an  undertone  passed  between 
the  two,  then  Ahmed  Pasha  also  rose  to  his  feet  with  a 
slow  movement  of  dignity.  Towards  the  alcove  he  cast 
a  narrow  glance  sideways,  walked  a  few  steps  across 
the  room  as  if  considering  his  mode  of  action,  then  turned 
resolutely  to  his  companion  who  was  standing  gravely  on 
the  carpet. 

Side  by  side  they  knelt  in  evening  prayer  to  Allah. 
Certain  members  of  the  party  at  the  big  table  regarded 
one  another  with  subdued  faces.  A  shrug  here,  a  quick 
gesture  there,  a  vivid  flashing  of  dark  eyes  right  and  left, 
and  a  few  others  got  up  and  followed  the  lead  given  them 
by  their  superior  officers. 

A  strange  silence  fell  upon  the  rest  of  the  room  while 
the  kneelers  began  to  go  through  the  full  gamut  of 
Moslem  genuflexions,  prostrations  and  muttered  for- 
mulas. The  low  monotonous  murmur  of  their  voices  was 
curiously  impressive. 

Pierre  Marson  looked  eagerly  towards  the  alcove  where 

14 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          15 

Zia,  seated  between  her  grandmother  and  aunt,  was  far 
too  buried  in  her  game  to  take  notice  of  anything  hap- 
pening outside  the  limits  of  the  small  table  in  front  of 
her. 

Herr  Rosen  had  cast  a  swift  glance  around  to  ascertain 
the  nature  of  the  movements,  then  his  lips  had  curled 
superciliously.  He  made  no  comment,  only  worked  the 
ends  of  his  mustache  more  industriously  than  before. 
He  was  willing  enough  to  be  amiable  to  Zia  and  even  to 
allow  her  to  carry  off  the  honors  of  victory  after  a  pur- 
posely protracted  game,  provided  that  Veronica  remained 
in  the  corner  of  the  sofa,  her  eyes  fixed  with  seeming 
interest  on  the  board.  But  his  air  of  conscious  virtue 
refused  to  be  hidden. 

Veronica  had  ceased  to  expect  Pierre.  Her  restless- 
ness had  ebbed  to  a  calm,  the  pink  flush  had  vanished 
from  her  cheeks.  Her  gaze,  hidden  under  lowered  eye- 
lids, was  miles  away.  She  looked  like  some  beautiful 
statue,  still  and  meditative,  as  she  leaned  slightly  for- 
ward, her  hands  clasped  upon  her  knees.  She  was  pre- 
occupied and  even  sad. 

For  while  she  sat  quietly  there  her  thoughts  dwelt  per- 
sistently on  the  morrow.  She  would  be  sitting  there  as 
now,  but  Pierre  Marson,  her  new  friend,  would  be  far 
away,  passed  out  of  her  life.  Their  short  intercourse 
would  have  come  to  an  end.  Yet  what  did  it  matter? 
And  what  was  it  that  gave  her  that  mental  reluctance 
to  face  the  plain  fact  that  he  was  going  away? 

As  this  question,  often  repeated,  again  thrust  its  barb 
into  her  mind  she  became  acutely  conscious  in  every 
nerve  that  light,  firm  steps  were  advancing  on  the  tes- 
sellated tiles  from  the  direction  of  the  window.  The 
gravity  of  her  lips  relaxed  into  an  involuntary  smile  of 


16          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

glad  surprise.  For  an  instant  her  eyelids  quivered,  then 
lifted  slowly  as  she  looked  up  and  beyond  the  card-table 
to  the  spot  where  the  footsteps  had  come  to  a  standstill 
behind  Herr  Rosen. 

Pierre  Marson  was  looking  straight  into  her  eyes  with 
something  dominating  in  his  gaze  to  which  she  responded 
instinctively  as  to  a  call.  His  silence  was  made  intelli- 
gible by  one  gesture  indicating  the  kneelers  at  prayer, 
while  another  directed  to  the  open  window  behind  was 
plainly  significant. 

The  girl  bent  sideways  behind  Zia  and  whispered  to 
Mme.  Severin,  who  nodded  indulgently,  and  while  glanc- 
ing with  a  smile  at  Pierre  took  up  a  soft  white  shawl 
beside  her. 

Veronica  took  the  wrap,  rose  noiselessly  and  went  for- 
ward, while  still  the  monotone  of  voices  continued  to 
mutter  through  the  room. 

Of  a  sudden  Herr  Otto  Rosen  awoke  to  a  change  in 
the  situation.  With  an  abrupt  movement  he  twisted  his 
chair  half  round  just  in  time  to  see  Pierre  and  Veronica 
pass  through  the  window  and  vanish  in  the  dusk  with- 
out. 

His  eyes  hardened  and  narrowed.  The  chair  creaked 
loudly  as  he  turned  back  and  stared  across  at  Mme. 
Severin  with  a  certain  cynical  challenge  in  his  glance. 
But  she  appeared  to  be  negotiating  a  difficult  passage  in 
her  embroidery  and  either  did  not  or  would  not  see  the 
unspoken  question. 

"Go  on!  I  am  waiting,"  said  Zia,  imperiously,  her 
cheeks  ablaze  with  the  fire  of  her  interest  in  the  game. 

A  deep  line  suddenly  showed  between  Herr  Rosen's 
brows.  His  lips  tightened.  For  a  moment  he  looked 
fixedly  into  space,  then  with  a  quick,  almost  ferocious, 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          17 

gesture  he  put  out  his  hand  and  swept  the  whole  of  the 
draughts  into  a  huddled  heap. 

"Enough!  It  is  time  for  children  to  be  in  bed,"  he 
said  in  a  harsh  voice. 

Zia's  sharp  scream  of  dismay  at  the  amazing  act 
changed  promptly  into  an  outcry  of  passion  and  heated 
retort  which  Mme.  Severin  tried  in  vain  to  curb. 

Veronica  stopped  short  outside  the  window  and  then 
made  a  vacillating  movement  towards  the  room. 

"No!  It  is  all  right.  Your  brother  is  going  in.  He 
has  already  entered,"  said  Pierre,  stepping  in  her  way. 
"He  can  manage  her  best.  Come  this  way!" 

With  the  force  of  the  stronger  will  he  led  her  to  the 
spot  where  the  mule  bells  had  broken  into  their  talk.  It 
was  a  little  bay  in  the  terrace  parapet.  Hurriedly  he 
dragged  forward  the  same  wicker  chairs  which  had  been 
thrust  back  when  he  and  Veronica  had  come  away. 

"Sit  down,"  he  said  gently,  and  then  when  she  was 
in  the  chair  he  stood  beside  her  for  a  moment  without 
speaking. 

Before  them  the  jet  black  silhouettes  of  tree  tops 
emerged  from  the  shadows.  The  fragrance  of  pines  and 
aromatic  shrubs  rose  like  the  breath  of  incense  from  the 
darkness  of  the  gorge.  A  rippling  light  as  of  the  dawn 
vaguely  silvered  the  furthest  ridge  of  the  mountain 
chain.  It  spread  over  the  sky  above,  and  then  the  stars 
paled  on  their  purple  background.  The  full  moon  began 
to  climb  slowly  into  view  above  the  hills. 

To  Veronica  the  silence  felt  like  a  sudden  shadow 
between  them.  Under  pressure  of  a  growing  nervous- 
ness she  began  to  speak  rapidly  in  a  low  voice. 

"The  little  Zia  is  not  really  naughty.  Certainly  she 
is  spoiled  a  little,  but  then  she  is  very  delicate  and 


i8          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

suffers  cruelly  at  times.  If  her  mother  had  lived  it 
would  have  been  different." 

Pierre  turned  at  once  and  sat  down  on  the  parapet 
facing  her. 

"Yes,"  he  said  absently,  "yes,"  his  brown  eyes  fixed 
upon  her  with  an  absorbing  look. 

"The  pasha  will  understand.  No  doubt  he  has 
children  of  his  own.  It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if 
they  are  not  very  willful.  They  always  are  in  this 
country.  Zia  is  an  angel  compared  with  many. ' ' 

"Who  was  her  mother?"  he  asked. 

"She  was  the  sister  of  an  Englishman  who  lives  out- 
side Opella.  He  has  a  silk  factory  and  employs  a  great 
number  of  native  work  people.  He  and  my  brother 
used  to  be  great  friends,  but  he  has  become  strange  and 
a  little  eccentric  in  his  way  of  living,  and  since  Zia's 
mother  died  we  see  less  and  less  of  him."  She  paused, 
then  added  hurriedly,  ' '  Especially  since  his  marriage  to 
the  daughter  of  Sheikh  Mabruk  of  one  of  the  Weldeh 
camps. ' ' 

Pierre  Marson's  eyes  widened.  He  was  amazed  and 
not  altogether  pleased  at  this  climax,  which  let  loose  a 
whole  flock  of  unwelcome  side  issues. 

"An  original,  evidently,"  he  said  lightly,  "but 
exactly  the  kind  of  thing  one  expects  of  an  expatriated 
Englishman.  One  extreme  or  the  other,  and  preferably 
the  most  startling.  The  whole  hog  as  his  countrypeople 
soulfully  put  it." 

"Zorah  is  beautiful,"  said  Veronica,  refusing  to  treat 
the  subject  humorously,  "and  sweet-tempered,  and  very 
brave. ' ' 

"A  whole  rosary  of  charms,"  Pierre  replied,  his  eyes 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          19 

sparkling  wickedly,  "but  why  brave?  Is  the  English- 
man as  difficult  as  all  that  ? ' ' 

"Oh  no,  she  adores  her  husband.  It  is  because  many 
of  her  tribe  are  angry  at  her  marriage  with  a  Roumi. 
It  puts  her  outside  the  camp,  makes  her  a  kind  of  out- 
cast. Her  father  was  willing,  so  she  takes  no  notice  of 
the  others  and  visits  him  just  the  same. ' ' 

"Do  you  visit  the  Englishman  and  his  Arab  wife?" 

"Not  often.  They  come  to  us,  for  you  see  Mr.  Culver 
is  Zia's  uncle.  He  was  devoted  to  his  sister,  who  was  a 
very  sweet  and  clever  woman.  Next  to  her  father  Zia 
thinks  nobody  is  equal  to  her  Uncle  John. ' ' 

Veronica's  spasm  of  nervousness  had  vanished.  Her 
absence  of  pose  and  self-consciousness  had  a  distinct 
charm  apart  from  the  imaginative  glamor  shed  over  her 
whole  fascinating  personality  by  the  growing  radiance  of 
the  moon.  His  dark  eyes  dwelt  upon  her  with  a  look  of 
illumined  tenderness.  Was  it  possible  he  had  never  even 
known  of  her  existence  three  short — no,  very  long — 
days  ago? 

"I  am  going  to-morrow.  It  is  quite  settled.  My 
marching  orders  came  with  the  mail, ' '  he  said,  changing 
the  subject  abruptly. 

"As  soon  as  that?"  she  said.  "Then  you  are  glad 
to  realize  your  wishes." 

"I  ought  to  be,  but  I  am  not  quite  sure,"  he  said, 
slowly.  "I  want  to  go  because  it  is  the  highest  thing  to 
me  in  life  to  be  a  pioneer  for  my  country.  I  want  to 
bear  the  colors  of  France  into  the  unknown,  to  be  one  of 
those  who  help  to  change  the  surface  of  the  desert  into 
a  garden.  Yet  I  want  to  stay  here — "  he  paused, 
and  turned  his  hand  on  the  parapet  to  gaze  on  the  magic 


20          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

panorama  of  moon-bathed  rocks  and  hill  tops.  Reflec- 
tion was  urging  him  to  a  prudent  reserve  in  spite  of 
emotion's  insistent  demand  for  expression.  "I  am  leav- 
ing to-morrow,"  he  repeated,  again  facing  her.  "Will 
you  think  of  me  at  times?" 

Her  heart  began  to  beat  quickly  as  she  listened. 
Though  she  forced  a  smile  the  reply,  "Why,  of  course!" 
falling  from  her  lips  was  almost  a  whisper. 

"Would  you  give  me  a  welcome  if  you  saw  me  again 
one  day,  say  at  your  home  in  Opella?"  he  said  with 
sudden  recklessness. 

"A  good  welcome,"  she  said  frankly,  meeting  his 
ardent  look  without  wavering.  ' '  I  should  be  very  happy 
to  see  you  there,  so  would  Mother  and  Nicholas. ' ' 

"Thank  you!  That  is  what  I  wanted  to  be  sure  of," 
he  said,  speaking  with  so  eager  and  tender  an  accent  that 
she  became  confused  and  turned  her  head  to  look  far 
over  the  gorge. 

A  nervous  impulse  again  drove  her  to  words. 

"We  should  miss  you  enormously  if  our  visit  here 
were  only  beginning,"  she  said. 

"When  do  you  leave  then?" 

' '  The  day  after  to-morrow. ' ' 

"So  much  the  better.  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  he  said 
shortly. 

"But  why?"  she  asked,  looking  round  again,  her 
embarrassment  conquered  by  surprise. 

"There  are  too  many  natives  here,  impudent  beg- 
gars!" 

She  laughed  merrily,  womanlike  catching  readily  at 
this  chance  to  postpone  a  crisis  of  which  a  secret  trem- 
bling of  soul  warned  the  approach. 

"Do  not  laugh,  I  beg  of  you!    I  am  quite  serious,"  he 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          21 

said  with  something  of  distress  and  even  of  mortification 
within  him  that  gayety  could  at  this  moment  lie  so  near 
the  surface  of  Veronica's  mood. 

"I  am  sorry,"  she  said,  "but  I  could  not  help  pictur- 
ing the  faces  those  distinguished  notables  of  Stamboul 
and  Damascus  would  draw  if  they  overheard  your  re- 
mark. It  was  so  droll  to  dump  them  all  into  one  basket. 
You  will  learn  to  make  distinctions  in  your  travels. ' ' 

"Never!  My  opinions  are  quite  formed.  But  why 
are  we  wasting  our  time  on  these  matters  ?  Let  us  speak 
of  ourselves.  I  want  you  to  write  to  me  sometimes,  Ver- 
onica. ' ' 

He  spoke  with  a  throb  in  his  voice.  The  name  had 
escaped  so  naturally  that  save  for  the  splendid  sudden 
glow  at  her  heart  she  took  its  utterance  as  a  matter  of 
course. 

He  had  taken  her  hand  and  held  it  in  a  warm  firm 
clasp.  The  moon  rays  lit  her  face.  She  was  gazing 
directly  at  him,  with  a  grave  shining  of  the  eyes. 

"You  would  really  like  it?  Then  you  must  write  to 
me  first,"  she  said  in  a  low  voice,  "or  I  shall  not  know 
where  you  are." 

He  pressed  her  hand  more  closely,  then  bent  his  head 
and  kissed  it  softly. 

"Of  course  I  shall  write,  for  you  give  me  permission, 
and  who  knows  but  that  next  year  some  time — "  he 
paused,  making  a  final  effort  to  conquer  that  something 
irrepressible  within.  His  voice  shook  as  he  went  on,  ' '  I 
dare  not  say  now  what  I  would  wish.  I  have  a  duty,  a 
mission — ' ' 

"You  must  come  in,  Veronica,"  said  Dr.  Severin's 
voice,  coming  from  a  little  distance  away.  "Little 
mother  is  tired." 


22          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

In  a  moment  the  girl  was  on  her  feet.  With  a  slight 
shiver  she  drew  her  mother's  big  shawl  closely  round  her 
shoulders.  Though  a  strange  tremulous  joy  had  invaded 
her  heart  it  was  shadowed  by  a  vague  aching  that  would 
later  become  enlarged  to  a  substantial  pain  for  all  that 
had  been  left  unsaid,  and  all  that  might  never  be  said. 

Anger  crowned  Pierre's  first  rush  of  feeling  at  the 
interruption.  This  was  as  quickly  followed  by  a  sense  of 
narrow  escape  from  a  perilously  strong  and  sweet  tempta- 
tion which  had  sprung  up  with  speed  of  magic  to  bar  the 
road  of  his  pledged  word  and  duty  to  France. 

First  in  order  must  come  his  mission,  he  told  himself 
doggedly.  Later — later — was  the  word  with  which  he 
sought  to  still  the  hunger  at  his  heart  as  they  walked 
slowly  towards  Nicholas  Severin. 

During  those  few  steps  taken  side  by  side  under  the 
spell  of  a  pregnant  silence  Veronica  knew  that  she  loved 
Pierre.  And  Pierre  was  going  away.  How  could  she 
bear  it  ?  She  felt  stunned,  and  yet  filled  with  the  burn- 
ing instinct  of  concealment.  He  must  not  know,  not  yet ! 
Her  face  suffused  first  with  the  fear  and  then  with  the 
certainty  that  already  she  must  have  betrayed  her  secret. 

She  made  a  brave  rally  as  she  stretched  out  her  hand 
before  entering  the  room. 

"Then  this  must  be  good-by,"  she  said  in  her  normal 
voice.  "I  wish  you  all  success  in  every  way,  and  bon 
voyage ! ' ' 

"No!"  returned  Pierre  emphatically.  "Au  revoir! 
At  Opella  next  year." 

"Au  revoir,  then,"  returned  Veronica,  gayly,  though 
now  she  could  not  raise  her  eyes. 

Then  she  drew  her  hand  away  and  went  immediately 
into  the  hotel. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          23 

"Ah!"  ejaculated  Mme.  Severin  softly,  watching 
Veronica,  as  pale  and  very  grave  but  still  with  the  shin- 
ing in  her  eyes  she  came  up  to  the  sofa.  The  pasha  and 
his  party  had  all  gone  from  the  room. 

"Where  is  Zia?"  asked  the  girl,  her  voice  vibrating 
slightly  gave  the  only  sign  of  emotion. 

"In  bed  asleep.  She  was  worn  out.  And  Monsieur 
Marson,  where  is  he?" 

' '  Outside  with  Nicholas.  I  expect  he  would  like  to  see 
you,  as  he  leaves  early  to-morrow. ' ' 

"Then,  my  little  one,  it  is  not  forbidden  for  him  to 
enter  and  make  his  adieux  to  me  here." 

Veronica  cast  a  look  of  unconscious  appeal  at  her 
mother  as  she  turned  to  the  window. 

"It  is  not  necessary,"  said  Mme.  Severin,  getting  up 
quickly.  "Nicholas  will  make  my  excuses.  He  knows 
I  am  tired.  Give  me  your  arm,  Veronica.  It  is  very 
late  already." 


CHAPTER  III 

BETWEEN  Veronica  and  her  mother  existed  an  abso- 
lute confidence,  so  that  when  inside  their  bedroom 
Mme.  Severin  drew  her  by  the  arm,  face  to  face,  and 
looked  into  her  eyes  the  girl's  still  pallor  melted  under 
the  questioning  gaze. 

"He  loves  me,"  she  whispered,  radiant  and  trembling. 

"And  then?"  asked  the  mother. 

"He  is  coming  next  year." 

"Next  year,"  repeated  Mme.  Severin,  blankly,  her 
forehead  contracting.  "Where  to?" 

' '  To  us — at  home, ' '  and  suddenly  with  the  words  Ver- 
onica felt  a  sharp  presentiment  of  the  pains  of  uncer- 
tainty and  of  absence.  She  drew  in  her  lower  lip  tightly 
to  check  its  untimely  quiver.  For  though,  deep  within, 
her  heart  already  ached,  the  wonder  and  joy  of  the  past 
hour  were  still  uppermost. 

Anna  Severin  folded  the  girl  in  her  arms  and  kissed  her 
tenderly.  With  wise  intuition  she  oeased  to  press  for 
details.  Dilation  upon  an  indefinitely  deferred  wooing 
bearing  on  the  surface  so  vague  a  prospect  of  fruition 
was  better  suppressed.  She  was  conscious  through  the 
night  that  Veronica  was  very  wakeful. 

"My  poor  little  girl,"  she  sighed  under  her  breath, 
opening  her  eyes  in  the  early  morning  to  see  a  slim 
young  figure  in  white  noiselessly  unlatch  the  shutters  and 
then  remain  upright  by  the  window  in  a  listening 
attitude. 

Close  at  hand  from  the  court  below  rose  the  stir  of 

24 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          25 

horses  to  the  accompaniment  of  Arabic  exclamations  and 
shrill  chatter.  Then  a  tempered  pause  as  a  clear  but  sub- 
dued voice  gave  a  sudden  order  which  was  followed  by  a 
noise  of  cantering. 

Pierre  Marson  had  passed  an  agitated  night  broken 
by  dreams  in  which  he  had  lost  Veronica,  and  in  the 
urgent  drive  of  seeking  her  had  faced  perils  of  a  remark- 
able and  terrible  nature.  Was  it  premonition  or  over- 
anxiety,  he  questioned,  as  he  opened  his  eyes.  Sunlight 
restored  a  normal  outlook,  and  in  the  bustle  and  concen- 
trated purpose  of  departure  he  forgot  the  perturbed 
travail  of  his  sleep. 

A  spasm  of  emotion  that  memory  was  to  bring  back  at 
intervals  during  the  day,  and  in  days  still  to  come,  caught 
his  breath,  as  turning  in  the  gateway  for  a  last  look  at 
the  hotel  and  not  anticipating  a  glimpse  of  Veronica  he 
saw  her  face,  fresh  as  a  rose,  albeit  a  white  rose,  appear 
between  the  slightly  opened  sun-shutters  of  her  room. 

He  checked  his  horse  as  he  bared  his  head  with  the 
sweeping  gesture  of  a  Frenchman.  She  waved  her  hand. 
For  a  moment  their  eyes  were  locked,  a  trembling  smile 
parting  Veronica's  lips.  Then  quickly  the  shutters 
closed,  and  he  rode  slowly  down  the  hill  with  an  unsup- 
portable  sense  of  exile.  Sorely  was  he  tempted  to  turn 
back  to  investigate  the  secrets  of  life  by  the  wide  and 
fair  highway  of  love  rather  than  pursue  the  untrodden 
tracks  he  was  setting  out  to  trace  and  forge  in  response 
to  the  call  of  his  manhood's  role  and  duty. 

Engaged  by  his  government  through  the  medium  of  a 
famous  engineering  company  for  a  secret  survey  in  little 
known  regions  of  Turkey  in  Asia  his  going  was  as  inevi- 
table as  it  was  imperative.  His  task  though  charged  with 
zest  and  profound  interest  would  be  hazardous  and 


26          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

arduous.  The  isolation  of  unpeopled  wastes  lay  ahead. 
Perils  and  privations  would  beset  him,  but  being  made 
of  the  virile  yet  tough  stuff  of  which  failure  is  rarely 
made  he  was  bound  in  the  end  to  win  through  the  pur- 
pose in  hand.  And  for  the  matter  of  that  any  other  pur- 
pose on  which  his  will  should  be  bent  with  the  same 
dynamic  force. 

Circumstances  being  equal  his  expedition  was  to  be 
made  as  unobtrusive  as  possible.  His  few  expert  assist- 
ants as  well  as  the  necessary  camp  servants  were  to  be 
his  chief  if  not  sole  companions  for  many  months  to 
come.  To  attack  his  work  in  the  right  spirit  and  with 
the  w.ide  vitality  and  forcefulness  of  his  character  he 
must  be  unfettered  by  responsibilities  of  an  intimate  per- 
sonal nature,  or  the  sweet  human  ties  which  have  a  way 
of  dispersing  energy.  Freedom  in  mind  and  will  was 
an  essential  to  success,  for  it  was  no  puny  task  he  had 
shouldered. 

Besides  it  was  fairer  all  round  to  Veronica.  That  she 
responded  to  the  love  he  held  fiercely  chained  in  his  heart 
he  knew  without  any  spoken  assurance.  Words  were 
useless.  There  was  that  between  them,  now  each  had 
found  the  other,  that  could  not  remain  hidden,  and  that 
would  be  deathless.  But  from  his  man 's  point  of  view  it 
was  only  by  silence  and  present  rigid  suppression  that 
he  was  able  to  play  the  game  squarely,  fairly,  and  in  all 
honor.  And  with  splendid  assurance  he  anticipated  the 
future,  an  assurance  which  is  the  prime  factor  of  success- 
ful achievement. 

As  he  rode  away  with  the  haste  of  a  man  eager  to  out- 
strip remembrance,  Veronica,  slipping  out  of  her  white 
peignoir,  crept  back  to  bed  blinded  by  a  rush  of  sudden 
tears. 


She  lay  for  a  while  with  tightly  closed  eyelids,  her  face 
to  the  wall,  aching  and  desolate  for  the  lost  treasures 
of  the  might-have-been.  Then  youth's  balm  of  hope  stole 
gently  over  her  heart  with  healing  touch.  For  though 
Pierre  was  almost  a  stranger,  she  fiercely  told  herself, 
and  she  had  as  yet  no  real  right  in  his  life,  he  had  said 
he  would  return. 

Had  he  really  meant  it  ?  Hope  urged  her  to  belief  and 
confidence  in  spite  of  adverse  signs.  For  it  is  always 
the  impossible  that  may  happen,  argues  the  young  heart, 
and  when  all  seems  contrary  it  still  holds  firm  through 
thick  and  thin  to  the  fighting  chance  in  love. 

Yet  already  with  the  mystic  insight  of  the  initiated 
she  foresaw  that  love  and  sorrow  must  often  be  boon  com- 
panions. That  either  could  exist  without  the  other 
experience  alone  could  prove.  Through  the  whole  of 
this  last  day  in  the  hills,  meditation  like  a  soft  veil  before 
her  eyes  held  her  in  a  little  world  apart,  where  the  eyes 
of  her  soul  looking  out  from  their  watch  tower  followed 
with  intense  longing  the  image  of  the  man  whose  absence, 
more  than  anything  else,  showed  how  unspeakably  dear 
he  had  become. 

She  was  relieved  to  be  going  home.  Life  up  here  had 
suddenly  lost  all  savor.  The  wonder  which  magnifies 
the  smallest  memory  of  love  was  upon  her  so  that  it  was 
a  torment  to  move  among  scenes  provoking  at  every  turn 
a  rush  of  recollection,  augmenting  her  sense  of  loss  and 
the  growing  space  between  Pierre  and  herself. 

This  state  of  mental  detachment  stayed  with  her  dur- 
ing the  homeward  journey.  But  she  was  not  the  type  of 
girl  that  sits  down  and  mopes  because  the  man  she  loves 
is  miles  away  and  his  return  to  her  indefinite. 

On  the  contrary,  remembrance  linked  with  hope  drove 


28         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

her  to  take  up  her  life  with  a  finer  zest  than  ever  before 
in  the  one-storied,  green-shuttered  house  that  was  her 
home.  It  was  situated  behind  high  walls  in  a  garden 
thick  with  foliage  adjoining  the  hospital  where  Dr. 
Severin  was  chief. 

Both  house  and  hospital  stood  in  the  Christian  suburb 
of  Opella,  connected  by  a  leafy  boulevard  with  the  maze 
of  Oriental  streets,  the  khans  of  the  mosques  with  their 
courts,  the  bazaars  with  their  spreading  expanse  of  flat 
roofs  which  all  together  made  up  the  town,  broken  by 
cupola  and  minaret  and  cypress  trees,  the  whole  domi- 
nated by  the  low  hill  in  the  center  crowned  with  its 
ancient  castle. 

Apparently  a  period  of  waiting  loomed  ahead  for  Ver- 
onica, though  by  no  means  one  of  inaction,  for  in  addi- 
tion to  the  daily  routine  there  were  many  things  to  do 
in  her  world. 

Zia's  desultory  lessons  had  to  be  started  afresh  and 
new  ways  devised  to  render  them  attractive  and  as  little 
irksome  as  possible.  Then  Mme.  Severin  though  nomi- 
nally holding  the  household  reigns  was  far  from  robust 
and  left  much  of  the  practical  management  to  her  daugh- 
ter. Not  always  an  easy  task  with  native  servants  to 
spur  into  activity,  and  the  doctor's  frequent  demands  on 
the  kitchen  for  special  cases  in  the  hospital. 

In  a  year's  time!  This  was  the  magic  formula  which 
lent  vitality  to  Veronica's  days,  and  color  to  her  busy 
life.  Out  of  the  constant  dwelling  upon  a  promise  in 
which  love  gave  her  firm  faith  there  sprang  into  existence 
that  unquenchable  feeling  of  romantic  expectation  intui- 
tive to  every  maiden  heart. 

This  expectation  became  of  tangible  stuff  when  a  letter 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          29 

from  Pierre  actually  came  to  her.  Its  arrival  marked 
time  like  a  real  event. 

It  was  certainly  no  love  letter,  Mme.  Severin  assured 
herself  emphatically,  and  all  the  better  for  that,  as  per- 
sonally she  had  no  faith  that  Pierre  Marson  would  ever 
show  his  face  in  Opella.  It  would  be  another  case  of 
lightly  come,  lightly  go,  she  calculated,  in  a  life  of  rapid 
changes  which,  picking  up  fresh  interests  continually, 
was  compelled  to  drop  passing  fancies  by  the  way,  and 
be  apt  to  forget  their  very  existence.  Towards  Veronica 
she  was  discreetly  silent,  not  inciting  to  hope,  nor  yet 
committing  the  fatal  mistake  of  crushing  what  she  con- 
sidered a  gossamer  fabric. 

"Little  mother  thinks  I  am  blind.  She  fears  that  I 
may  be  disappointed,"  smiled  the  girl  conning  over  the 
letter  in  which  she  daily  discovered  new  and  delightful 
meanings  for  every  word  inscribed,  "but  she  will  know 
the  truth  one  day.  I  know  it  already.  I  am  sure  of  it. ' ' 

During  the  siesta  hour  while  the  mother  was  lying 
down  and  Zia  sleeping  on  her  bed  Veronica  liked  to  sit 
with  closed  eyes  on  the  shaded  veranda,  dreaming 
silently  of  the  man  she  loved.  At  the  back  of  many 
romantic  pictures  of  the  future  and  tingling  memories 
there  remained  ever  a  dread  of  danger  coming  to  meet 
him  on  the  far-off  and  lonely  tracks,  of  sickness  smiting 
him  under  the  hot  sun  of  a  waterless  land,  of  men  lying 
in  wait  by  the  wayside  to  rob  and  to  kill.  While  musing 
over  sorrows  yet  unborn  her  eyes  would  often  become 
drenched  with  sudden  tears,  and  the  year  of  absence 
become  magnified  in  anticipation  to  an  eternity. 

Suddenly  and  almost  without  warning  real  cause  for 
anxiety  sprang  up  in  the  rumors  of  war  bursting  upon 


30          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

the  city.  People  of  every  caste  and  creed  were  sick  of  the 
very  name  of  war,  that  dragon  more  deadly  than  any 
mythical  beast,  which  had  torn  men  in  hundreds  from 
their  families  and  later  flung  the  survivors  back  as  use- 
less flotsam,  ragged,  starved,  unpaid,  their  wounds  badly 
tended  and  unhealed.  The  bitterness  left  in  the  wake 
of  the  Balkan  war  still  rankled  and  was  not  likely  to 
diminish  under  the  increasingly  heavy  yoke  of  compul- 
sory military  service. 

The  Utopia  predicted  by  the  exuberant  promises  of  the 
New  Constitution  had  long  gone  up  in  smoke.  The  old 
tyranny  lifted  for  a  brief  moment  had  dropped  again 
with  deadly  grip,  and  become  even  more  despotic. 

Misrule  and  injustice  showered  not  only  over  Arme- 
nians and  other  Christians  but  upon  Moslems  as  well. 
Those  who  have  lived  under  Turkish  government  know 
the  case  is  fairly  hopeless  once  Moslem  himself  sets  out 
to  eat  Moslem. 

Still  in  a  town  like  Opella,  removed  from  the  coast,  the 
full  meaning  of  the  relation  of  the  great  "War  to  the 
Turkish  Empire  hung  fire  for  a  time.  Exciting  events 
followed  one  upon  the  other  with  a  haste  that  left  imag- 
ination apprehensive  of  worse  to  come.  Forebodings 
grew  apace. 


CHAPTER  IV 

HERR  OTTO  ROSEN  was  coining  to  the  end  of  a 
long  and  serious  talk  with  Madame  Severin.     Her 
usually  pale  face  was  flushed,  and  there  was  a  fitful 
glimmer  in  her  pensive  eyes  as  of  the  awakening  of 
sleeping  fires. 

"Danger?  Not  of  that  kind,  my  good  Otto!  You 
cannot  be  serious.  Turkey  is  bound  to  keep  out  of  the 
war.  She  has  bled  too  freely  to  run  further  risks.  I 
will  not  deny  my  dread  when  the  terrible  outburst  took 
us  unawares,  but  now  even  Nicholas  is  not  of  your  opin- 
ion. He  tells  me — " 

"Naturally  a  son  shows  the  best  face  of  affairs  to  his 
mother,"  interrupted  Rosen,  "but  I  assure  you  under 
four  eyes  that  Turkey  is  on  the  verge  of  entering  the 
war  on  the  side  of  Germany.  Yes,  on  our  side, ' '  he  said 
emphatically  as  a  skeptical  exclamation  escaped  from 
Mme.  Severin.  "And  tell  me  what  else  can  she  do? 
There  is  no  help  for  her  from  the  Powers  who  for  years 
have  tried  to  strangle  her  very  existence.  England  and 
her  Allies  are  thoroughly  beaten  by  land  and  sea.  India 
is  in  revolt,  refusing  any  longer  to  be  kept  in  servitude. 
Millions  of  Moslems  there,  and  in  Egypt,  and  all  over 
the  Orient,  are  only  waiting  the  signal  to  rise  and  expel 
these  outrageous  tyrants.  There  is  really  only  one 
European  Power  to  which  Oriental  hearts  go  out  in 
sympathy,  and  that  Power  is  Germany. ' ' 

"My  God!  What  a  misfortune!"  groaned  Mme. 
Severin. 

31 


32          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Why  do  you  say  that?"  he  snapped,  stiffening. 

"Don't  tell  me  you  are  ignorant  of  what  a  widespread 
uprising  of  the  Moslems  will  mean?"  she  asked,  severely, 
in  her  turn.  "Do  you  suppose  for  one  instant  they  will 
discriminate  even  between  Germans  and  English  if  kill- 
ing Christians  becomes  their  one  and  holy  duty  from  the 
Mohammedan  point  of  view?  " 

"Oh,  won't  they!"  he  said,  quickly.  "No  fear  at 
all  of  their  laying  hands  on  a  person  of  German  blood. 
The  risk  would  be  well  known  in  advance.  You  don't 
seem  to  realize  that  we  are  in  command  at  Constanti- 
nople ?  I  have  already  discussed  the  whole  business  with 
the  doctor.  Any  day  the  crisis  may  be  upon  us  and 
meanwhile  all  is  ready.  German  rule  will  extend  in  a 
very  short  time  from  Berlin  through  Turkey  to  Bagdad 
and  on  to  the  Persian  Gulf,"  he  wound  up  with  a  self- 
satisfied  air. 

"Heavens!"  exclaimed  the  listener,  less  impressed 
than  the  speaker  anticipated.  "So  the  Turkish  or 
rather  Moslem  notion  of  freedom  is  to  exchange  one  set 
of  masters  for  another?  Kidiculous  short  sight  on  their 
part,  or  is  it  simply  an  unlimited  presumption  on  that  of 
Germany  ? ' ' 

Rosen's  face  reddened  at  this  audacious  reply. 

"Leave  that  matter,"  he  said,  swallowing  his  resent- 
ment, "time  will  enlighten  you.  My  point  is  this. 
Events  of  grave  nature  are  at  hand.  The  day  will  be 
here  quicker  than  you  think  when  only  the  German  flag 
can  give  security.  You  have  long  known  that  I  love  your 
daughter.  For  her  sake  I  would  consider  as  a  sacred 
duty,  second  to  none,  the  well  being  and  safety  of  all 
those  dear  to  her. ' ' 

The  arrogance  suddenly  died  out  of  his  voice,  and  in 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          33 

its  stead  pleaded  a  solid  note  of  sentiment  which  drew  a 
responsive  vibration  from  Mme.  Severin's  sensitive 
nature. 

"Yes!  yes!"  she  assented,  slowly.  "You  have  a 
kind  heart  when  you  do  not  take  pains  to  hide  it.  I 
have  put  no  obstacle  in  your  way  with  regard  to  Ver- 
onica. On  the  contrary  I  have  left  you  free  to  win  her 
confidence  and  affection." 

"I  know  you  have,"  he  said,  agitatedly,  "and  that 
is  why  I  now  beg  for  your  mediation.  You  can  have 
nothing  against  me.  My  position  is  assured  with  an 
income  that  increases  yearly.  I  can  keep  a  wife  in  more 
than  comfort.  Her  happiness  should  be  my  first 
consideration.  Dear  Madame,  I  am  willing  to  make  any 
concession  you  demand  if  you  will  only  promise  to  use 
your  influence  with  Veronica." 

Anna  Severin's  deep  eyes  looked  at  him  reflectively. 
A  multitude  of  thoughts  thronged  her  mind,  the  fore- 
most being  that  which  dwelt  upon  the  possibility  of  sav- 
ing Veronica  the  probation  of  the  stern  school  of  life 
through  which  she  herself  had  been  forced  by  fate  to 
pass.  Exiles  from  Eussia  in  her  youth  her  family  had 
known  deprivation  even  to  hunger  till  the  father,  a 
doctor  of  repute  in  his  own  country,  had  fought  his 
way  into  a  new  practice  in  a  big  provincial  town  of 
France. 

Anna,  educated  in  the  local  communal  school,  had 
learnt  to  speak  French  like  a  native.  Brought  up  to 
recognize  that  she  must  work  to  win  a  livelihood  she  had 
first  studied  hard,  and  showing  aptitude  for  a  medical 
career  her  father  had  then  sent  her  to  pass  through  the 
usual  courses  in  a  Paris  hospital.  There  she  had  met 
her  husband,  the  first  Nicholas  Severin,  enthusiastic  and 


34          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

an  ardent  patriot,  imbued  with  the  high  aim  in  life  of 
freeing  Armenia  from  the  Turkish  yoke. 

Anna,  entering  into  his  vision,  put  no  obstacle  in  the 
way  when  the  right  moment  came  for  him  to  return  to 
the  near  East.  Their  son  had  been  born  in  Paris,  but 
was  still  in  infant  when  Dr.  Severin  took  up  a  post  of 
authority  in  an  Armenian  college  of  Syria  run  by  a 
foreign  mission. 

Since  then  long  years  had  run  out  their  dole  of  mixed 
joys  and  strangled  hopes,  tragic  epochs  and  intolerable 
injustices.  The  day  of  established  reforms  so  long 
promised  by  Turkey  to  satisfy  the  national  aspirations 
of  the  Armenians  never  dawned  in  the  lifetime  of  Anna's 
husband. 

Veronica,  born  ten  years  later  than  Nicholas  her 
brother,  was  a  year  old  when  her  mother  took  both 
children  to  visit  the  grandparents  in  France.  The  pro- 
fessor followed  when  his  holidays  began.  During  their 
absence  suddenly  broke  out  and  raged  furiously  those 
terrible  massacres  of  1895-96,  which  drew  from  Glad- 
stone the  fire  and  wrath  of  his  last  public  speech.  What 
had  begun  among  young  and  ardent  spirits  of  Armenian 
blood  as  a  dream  of  superb  freedom,  leading  in  imita- 
tion of  .Russian  organizations  to  the  creation  of  secret 
societies,  had  merged  into  a  nightmare  of  fearful  inten- 
sity through  continual  brooding  upon  their  country's 
horrible  wrongs.  When  of  a  sudden  an  avenging  spirit 
quickened  the  white  heat  of  their  fervor,  and  reckless  of 
consequence  these  "exaltes"  fired  with  supreme  con- 
fidence the  first  shots  in  Constantinople,  retribution  fol- 
lowed with  swift  and  sure  stroke,  no  less  than  300,000 
Armenians  in  Asia  Minor  falling  victims  to  these  brutal 
massacres. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          35 

Nicholas  Severin  the  elder  never  recovered  from  the 
shock  and  anguish  of  this  blow  to  all  his  hopes  of  national 
liberty.  They  went  back  to  their  home  when  the  storm 
was  spent  and  the  Powers  once  again  had  forced  Turkey 
to  bend  to  the  dictates  of  humanity.  Innumerable  inno- 
cent had  paid  the  price  for  the  temporary  madness  and 
exaltation  of  the  few.  Relations  and  many  close  friends 
of  the  Severin  family  had  been  murdered.  Promising 
students  of  the  college  had  fallen  fighting  vainly  for 
home  and  the  emancipation  of  their  race. 

All  these  sleeping  memories  awoke  and  slipped  swiftly 
as  the  successive  pictures  of  a  cinema  film  before  the 
mental  eye  of  Anna  Severin.  And  as  the  ancient  wounds 
began  to  burn  shadows  deepened  in  her  steady  gaze. 

Her  husband  had  died  within  a  year  of  his  return  to 
Opella,  of  a  broken  heart  without  a  doubt.  In  the  years 
of  her  son 's  education  and  medical  training,  and  of  Ver- 
onica's  school  days,  spent  partly  by  the  girl  in  France 
and  partly  in  a  local  American  school,  what  a  retrospect 
of  burning  anxiety,  of  the  straining  of  every  energy  of 
body  and  mind  to  keep  together  the  happy  home  estab- 
lished by  the  father.  Rather  than  yield  a  step  to  circum- 
stances she  had  taken  boarders  into  her  house,  given 
endless  courses  of  French  lessons  in  college  and  school 
and  to  private  pupils,  until  finally  she  had  gained  relief 
after  years  of  eare  through  inheriting  the  accumulated 
little  fortune  of  her  parents. 

To  Nicholas  her  son  had  passed  the  reputation  of  his 
father,  and  also  the  strong  silent  determination  never 
to  resign  his  national  individuality.  In  a  real  and 
radical  deliverance  from  the  Turkish  yoke  he  had  ceased 
to  believe.  The  nation  was  too  scattered  for  united  effort 
towards  emancipation.  His  hopes  centered  ever  on  the 


36         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

recognition  sooner  or  later  by  the  Young  Turk  Party 
that  it  would  only  be  possible  for  them  to  establish  a 
regime  of  order  and  civilization  throughout  the  Ottoman 
Empire  by  making  use  of  the  high  intellect  and  superior 
business  ability  of  the  Armenian  element. 

Pictures  of  the  hopes  and  enthusiasms  raised  by  the 
triumph  of  the  New  Constitution,  then  of  the  fearful 
disillusion  in  the  Adana  and  other  Syrian  massacres  a 
year  later,  gave  way  in  Mme.  Severin's  brain  to  one  of 
dire  foreboding  for  the  days  to  come. 

And  if  tragedies  of  yesterday  were  to  repeat  them- 
selves in  some  near  to-morrow  as  darkly  suggested  by  the 
man  before  her,  how  could  he  dare  to  stand  there  and 
bargain  cold-bloodedly  for  the  chief  treasure  of  her 
mother's  heart? 

Her  eyes  blazed  with  sudden  fire. 

"// — you  say,  Herr  Eosen — if,"  she  said,  her  mel- 
low voice  vibrating  with  scorn.  "Why  should  there  be 
any  if  in  the  matter  ?  You,  a  representative  official  of  a 
nation  which  boasts  louder  than  any  other  of  culture  and 
true  religious  feeling,  you  can  come  to  me  and  speak  with- 
out blushing  of  an  alliance  with  the  assassins  of 
Christians?  And  you  even  wish  to  make  conditions  for 
a  necessity  that  may  arise  of  offering  the  protection  of 
your  flag  to  a  family  into  whose  intimate  circle  you  have 
been  admitted,  at  whose  board  you  have  eaten  and  drunk, 
at  whose  hands  you  have  always  received  unvariable 
kindness  and  welcome?  Say,  have  you  been  our  friend 
or — a  time  server?" 

"Conditions?  "What  do  you  mean?  Time  server! 
This  is  intolerable,"  stuttered  Rosen,  choked  with  anger 
and  decided  dismay  at  a  revolt  where  he  had  looked 
blindly  for  acquiescence  and  even  warm  appreciation. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          37 

Like  most  aggressive  natures  when  firmly  tackled  he 
blustered,  thereby  betraying  that  his  defenses  were  weak 
and  easily  penetrated  under  a  skillful  attack. 

"What  chance  of  success  in  your  wooing  could  you 
expect  if  Veronica  guessed  one  iota  of  the  kind  of  bar- 
gain you  wish  to  drive  with  her  mother?"  continued 
Anna  Severin,  pressing  home  the  advantage  she  saw  she 
had  gained. 

"But  my  good  Madame  Severin  you  have  utterly  mis- 
taken me, ' '  said  Rosen,  determined  to  let  nothing  come  in 
the  way  of  his  unalterable  resolve  to  win  Veronica. 
"Under  all  circumstances  my  services  would  be  at  your 
disposal.  It  was  premature  for  me  to  bring  the  German 
flag  into  question,  for  who  would  be  more  certain  than 
myself  to  fly  to  your  succor  should  the  need  arise, 
which  God  in  heaven  forbid?  All  I  am  begging  of  you 
is  the  favor  of  a  word  on  my  behalf  with  Veronica.  I 
make  no  conditions,  absolutely  none." 

"My  daughter  will  never  love  any  man  to  order,"  said 
Anna  Severin.  "Of  that  I  am  certain.  Just  as  my 
dear  parents  left  me  free  to  marry  where  my  heart  was 
given  so  I  intend  Veronica  to  enjoy  the  same  freedom." 

Her  words  drove  from  Otto  Rosen's  mind  all  but  the 
paramount  idea  of  how  to  adapt  love's  counsel  as  it 
appealed  to  him  to  Veronica 's  liberty  of  choice  in  select- 
ing the  man  of  her  heart  for  a  husband. 

"But  you  have  nothing  against  me  personally?"  he 
asked,  abruptly. 

"No!"  said  Mme.  Severin  with  decision. 

"Where  is  she?"  he  asked,  looking  round  the  spacious 
living  room  with  its  Oriental  hangings,  deep  divans  and 
scattered  pieces  of  French  furniture,  and  then  stepping 
up  to  a  side  table  to  stare  at  a  large  painted  photograph 


38          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

of  Veronica  arrayed  in  all  the  vivid  bravery  of  an  ancient 
Armenian  costume. 

Mme.  Severin  viewed  him  narrowly,  her  critical 
scrutiny  charged  with  all  that  capacity  for  detail  which 
a  mother  employs  in  summing  up  the  points  of  a  man 
who  openly  declares  his  love  for  her  daughter  and  that 
an  only  daughter.  His  disclosures  had  given  her  urgent 
cause  to  think.  She  did  not  reply  at  once. 

"Where  is  Veronica?"  he  inquired  again.  There  was 
ardor  in  his  voice.  The  pictured  beauty  of  the  girl  had 
completely  melted  the  hardness  in  his  steel  gray  eyes. 

"Just  before  you  came  in  she  drove  down  to  the 
orchard  with  Zia  and  Amina  to  prepare  for  the  evening 
meal  there.  Will  you  join  us  ? " 

"If  I  possibly  can,  but  it  depends  upon  the  mails  and 
certain  telegrams  I  am  waiting  for,"  he  replied  with  a 
hurried  wrinkling  of  his  brows,  for  official  duty  never 
more  important,  could  not  possibly  yield  place  to  the 
urgent  call  of  the  heart.  He  had  not  yet  arrived  at  the 
stage  where  the  ardor  to  possess  and  dominate  becomes 
with  men  of  his  nature  a  stubborn  obsession  that  sweeps 
•all  but  the  one  aim  aside  in  order  to  attain  it. 

It  was  true  as  Anna  Severin  declared  that  Nicholas 
had  kept  the  worst  rumors  of  Turkey  entering  the  war 
from  her  knowledge,  but  he  had  no  delusions  himself  on 
the  matter.  Mobilization  was  already  in  swing.  Men 
were  being  forced  to  leave  their  homes  and  work. 
Hundreds  employed  on  the  new  railroad  had  already  laid 
down  tools  and  been  marched  off  to  an  unknown  desti- 
nation. Their  place  was  later  to  be  taken  by  victims 
totally  unsuspicious  of  the  fate  lying  in  wait  for  them. 

The  town  was  more  than  ever  a  busy  gateway  of  the 
East,  teeming  with  traffic  of  all  kinds.  At  the  Interna- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT         39 

tional  Telegraph  office  in  the  Serai  Consular  Agents 
clamored  in  vain  to  get  their  messages  through,  receiv- 
ing one  uniform  excuse  that  the  wires  were  monopolized 
under  Government  orders.  Conflicting  reports  leading 
to  sharp  and  violent  discussions  in  the  ante-rooms  added 
to  the  general  suspense. 

"I  will  go  to  the  station,"  said  Nicholas  Severin, 
called  from  the  hospital  by  an  urgent  message  from  his 
mother,  "and  see  if  I  can  pick  up  any  fresh  news  there. 
The  mail  itself  will  not  be  in  till  later. ' ' 

' '  Otto  Rosen  had  the  air  of  expecting  important  things 
by  it,"  she  said,  anxiously.  "Say,  Nicholas,  shall  I 
send  for  the  children?  We  can  sup  in  the  house  to- 
night. They  are  in  the  orchard. ' ' 

"No,  let  them  be,"  he  said,  hastily.  "Thrust  worry 
aside  as  long  as  you  can  and  as  far  as  is  possible  for  their 
sakes.  I  will  bring  on  the  latest  news.  Better  still, 
pick  me  up  at  the  hospital.  You  can  remain  in  the  car- 
riage while  I  make  enquiries  in  the  station." 

"Bien!  But  what  is  your  own  real  opinion?  With- 
out reserve,  my  son!"  pressed  Anna  Severin,  clutching 
his  arm  as  he  turned  to  go. 

He  looked  down  at  the  tense  face  raised  to  his.  Silence 
would  but  aggravate  her  fears,  whereas  knowledge  of 
fact  would  tend  to  steady  her  nerves.  In  any  case  he 
could  no  longer  conceal  the  gravity  of  the  situation. 

' '  Matters  are  serious.  Turkey 's  doom  is  upon  her, ' '  he 
said  in  a  deep,  almost  prophetic  voice.  "It  is  a  fatal 
error  for  her  to  break  with  her  two  oldest  and  best 
friends,  England  and  France,  but  the  German  pressure 
is  so  strong  she  has  been  driven  to  it." 

"Then  it  means  war  as  Otto  Eosen  said,  and  on  the 
wrong  side,"  she  exclaimed.  "I  would  not  credit  it 


40         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

though  he  insisted  that  Germany  was  winning  all  round, 
and  her  enemies  had  not  a  chance.  And  her  enemies  are 
our  friends!" 

Nicholas  Severin  glanced  round  the  room.  Was  there 
an  eavesdropper  within  hearing  ? 

"Be  careful,  little  mother,"  he  said  with  the  air  of 
one  used  to  caution  in  all  his  words. 

"The  outlook  is  dark,"  she  muttered. 

"Let  us  hope  while  we  can,"  he  reassured.  "Mean- 
time it  is  not  necessary  to  provoke  Rosen  needlessly. 
There  is  no  doubt  he  is  in  deadly  earnest  about  Veronica. 
I  have  seen  it  coming  for  a  long  time.  Give  her  a  hint. 
It  will  do  her  no  harm  to  be  prudent,  though  I  don't 
think  for  one  moment  she  will  entertain  his  proposal 
seriously." 

' '  My  poor  France ! ' '  murmured  Mme.  Severin,  darkly 
pursuing  her  own  train  of  thought.  "Bleeding!  Suf- 
fering! It  is  only  the  beginning." 

"I  don't  believe  half  we  hear,"  Nicholas  said,  still 
confidently,  though  a  gleam  of  anguish  showed  for  an  in- 
stant far  down  in  his  dark  eyes.  He  felt  that  not  only 
France  was  in  dire  peril.  "Rosen  told  only  his  own 
views.  Wait  till  we  hear  the  other  side.  It  is  bound  to 
come  through  sooner  or  later.  Go  and  get  ready  now 
while  I  run  back  to  arrange  one  or  two  matters  before 
you  call  for  me." 

She  flung  her  arms  round  him. 

"My  son!  My  dear,  dear  son!  Be  wise,  and  always 
cautious, ' '  she  gasped  with  a  half  sob. 

He  kissed  her,  calling  her  by  the  old  endearing  names 
of  his  childhood.  She  calmed  under  his  caresses,  quickly 
regaining  her  composure. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          41 

"God  be  with  you,"  she  said  suddenly  in  a  restrained 
voice,  pushing  him  gently  forward. 

She  followed  slowly  to  the  terrace  to  watch  him  pass 
down  the  shrubbery  path  to  the  gate  in  the  wall  which 
communicated  with  the  hospital.  Her  imagination  still 
ran  riot  in  those  past  scenes  of  dread  and  horror  evoked 
by  her  conversation  with  Rosen. 

What  did  the  future  hold  ? 

For  herself  she  feared  nothing.  The  worst  fate 
would  but  unite  her  with  the  beloved  husband  whom  she 
mourned  to-day  as  deeply  as  on  the  day  he  died.  All  her 
fear  concerned  her  children  and  Zia.  In  any  case  noth- 
ing should  take  them  unawares.  They  must  be  circum- 
spect and  in  all  ways  ready  to  face  the  unknown  future. 

And  as  she  stood  there  the  haggard  and  worried  look 
faded  from  her  face.  Strength  and  calm  resolution  re- 
turned to  her  eyes.  As  she  had  done  many  a  time  before, 
Anna  Severin  resolutely  closed  the  door  of  her  soul  to 
fear. 


CHAPTER  V 

AT  the  station  reigned  the  usual  Oriental  Pande- 
monium, keyed  to  a  shriller,  more  excited  note  than 
ordinary.  Since  the  gala  day  of  inauguration,  at  a  re- 
cent date,  there  had  never  been  such  a  crowd.  Blazing 
eyes,  nervous  impassioned  speech,  enhanced  vivacity, 
were  signals  of  the  prevailing  flaming  desire  for  news 
— the  latest — the  most  definite  news. 

One  question  hovered  on  every  lip.    Was  it  war? 

It  would  seem  so.  The  only  important  train  of  the 
day  had  at  last  arrived,  every  seat  and  corner  crowded 
out.  From  near  and  far  away  travelers  of  the  bel- 
ligerent nations  were  working  a  difficult,  and  in  many 
cases,  a  circuitous  way  to  the  coast.  Would  they  find 
a  steamer  in  waiting  was  another  burning  question. 
And  had  the  last  one  come  and  gone,  leaving  them 
stranded  in  an  enemy's  land? 

Nicholas  Severin  alternately  edged  and  forced  a  pas- 
sage through  the  struggling  masses.  Hailed  now  and 
•again  in  Turkish,  in  Arabic,  in  Armenian,  he  showed  his 
intelligence  and  a  prudent  discretion  more  in  keeping 
an  open  ear  than  in  squandering  words  himself. 

Suddenly  a  whisper  was  shot  into  his  ear. 

' '  Dr.  Severin ! ' '     Then  a  hand  gripped  his  arm. 

He  turned  sharply,  touched  by  a  sense  of  familiarity 
in  the  voice,  and  found  himself  looking  into  the  face  of 
Pierre  Marson. 

"You,  Monsieur?"  he  began,  then  stopped  short  in 
response  to  a  muttered  "Hush !  No  name,  please !" 

4* 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          43 

"Myself  and  none  other,"  Marson  resumed  in  guarded 
tones,  "  trying  to  rush  through  before  the  way  is 
blocked." 

"How?    Where?" 

"Scanderoon.  A  boat  touches  there  to-morrow  night, 
perhaps  the  last.  There  are  a  party  of  us.  We  have 
conveyances  and  horses  in  readiness.  An  express  mes- 
senger came  on  in  advance  to  engage  them. ' ' 

"How  long  do  you  stay  here?" 

"We  must  start  in  a  couple  of  hours.  Madame 
Severin,  Mademoiselle  Veronique,  and  the  little  Zia? 
They  are  well?"  asked  Pierre  Marson,  hurriedly. 

Talking  in  rapid  undertones  the  two  men  drifted  into 
a  backwash  of  the  throng.  For  a  moment  they  stood 
isolated  under  an  archway  while  the  human  tide,  strug- 
gling, gesticulating,  shouting,  surged  by  them. 

"Two  hours?  You  have  to  dine  somewhere.  Do  so 
with  us  in  our  orchard.  Veronica  and  Zia  are  there  al- 
ready. My  mother  herself  waits  for  me  now  outside  the 
station.  Come!  All  will  be  ready. " 

"Is  it  far?"  Hesitation  wrestling  with  his  desire  to 
comply  were  both  mirrored  in  the  vivid  glance  Pierre 
shot  at  Dr.  Severin. 

"A  short  five  minutes  drive  only." 

"Where's  my  man?"  said  Pierre  sharply,  as  he  took 
a  step  forward  to  scan  the  crowd  right  and  left.  "I 
must  know  the  exact  time  of  starting  and  the  place  of 
rendezvous.  Not  for  anything  in  the  world  must  I  miss 
that  connection.  Ah,  there  he  is!" 

On  the  point  of  raising  his  voice  to  a  dark  faced  Syrian 
in  Western  clothes  and  a  red  fez  standing  against  the 
wall  a  few  yards  away  with  traveling  bags  in  hand,  the 
words  died  'away  on  Pierre's  lips.  On  the  instant  his 


44         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

face  became  void  of  expression  as  if  cast  in  stone,  and 
then  with  an  ease  showing  prompt  resource  in  a 
critical  moment  he  turned  with  a  brilliant  smile  to  his 
companion. 

"Yes,  Raschid  Pasha  himself  was  my  host  and  an  ex- 
cellent one.  From  first  to  last  His  Excellency  feted  me 
right  royally,"  he  said,  loudly,  in  faultless  Arabic,  as  if 
in  the  full  flow  of  harmless  gossip.  "One  day  he  took 
me  with  him  to  a  review  of  his  cavalry.  A  magnificent 
display,  I  assure  you." 

He  laid  his  hand  on  the  doctor's  shoulder  as  if  to  em- 
phasize his  remarks,  but  in  reality  there  was  warning  in 
the  pressure.  He  had  seen  a  face  he  knew  among  the 
passers-by,  a  face  in  whose  arrogant  gaze  both  suspicion 
and  curiosity  mingled  darkly.  At  last  he  had  recognized 
the  man  for  the  German  consul  whom  he  had  met, 
though  scarcely  spoken  with,  in  the  society  of  the  Severin 
family. 

It  was  clear  to  Nicholas  Severin  that  Marson  was 
speaking  for  effect.  Yielding  promptly  to  the  pull  of 
the  fingers  on  his  arm  he  moved  away  from  the  archway 
and  plunged  into  the  stream  of  people. 

"The  cavalry  of  His  Excellency,  Raschid  Pasha,  are 
without  a  rival, ' '  he  said,  enthusiastically,  responding  in 
the  same  vein.  "Did  you  see  that  wonderful  mare  about 
which  so  many  strange  tales  are  told  ? ' ' 

They  were  soon  blocked  from  sight  by  Marson 's 
servant  following  closely  ait  their  heels  in  obedience  to  a 
gesture  from  his  master. 

"Dangerous  man,  without  a  doubt,"  commented  Otto 
Rosen  inwardly  as  Nicholas  Severin  went  by  apparently 
too  absorbed  to  notice  whom  he  had  elbowed,  "though 
he  does  not  seem  to  be  hatching  mischief  at  this  moment. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          45 

If  he  were  not  Veronica's  brother  I'd  soon  have  him  out 
of  the  way," 

But  for  the  recent  talk  with  Mme.  Severin  and  its 
promise  of  hope,  and  the  insistent  call  of  official  duty 
that  would  take  no  denial  at  this  moment,  he  would  cer- 
tainly have  stopped  the  two  men  under  cloak  of  friend- 
ship with  one  of  them,  and  put  many  questions  of  an 
embarrassing  nature. 

He  dismissed  as  improbable  his  first  suspicion  that  be- 
cause the  fellow  was  in  the  doctor's  company  he  was  go- 
ing to  his  house.  At  this  critical  juncture  in  the 
military  situation  any  pause  in  a  speedy  departure 
would  be  madness  to  a  Frenchman.  And  better  let  him 
be  gone  and  out  of  the  country  than  remain  a  prisoner 
to  excite  enhanced  interest  and  sentiment  in  the  bosom 
of  a  girl  whom  he  had  certainly  tried  to  draw  into  a 
serious  flirtation.  Luckily  Veronica  was  not  a  girl  to  be 
won  by  cheap  methods,  Rosen  took  time  to  reflect,  before 
again  applying  his  mind  to  the  intricacies  of  German 
intrigue.  And  so  complacent  was  he  with  his  own  worth 
in  the  girl 's  eyes  that  he  had  no  doubt  whatever  as  to  her 
ultimate  surrender.  She  would  certainly  be  ready  for 
love's  claiming  whenever  he  chose  to  insist  upon  a  real 
decision. 

While  Nicholas  guided  Marson  out  of  the  crowd  to  the 
rear  of  the  station  it  was  swiftly  planned  that  the  drago- 
man should  drive  with  them  to  the  garden  to  note  the 
locality,  retaining  the  carriage  to  go  off  quickly  to  make 
final  arrangements  for  the  journey.  He  was  then  to 
come  back  in  the  vehicle  hired  for  his  master's  use,  pro- 
vided with  all  that  was  necessary. 

"It  is  on  the  direct  route.  No  time  will  be  lost," 
said  Nicholas,  opening  the  sun  curtains  of  a  low  carriage 


46         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

drawn  up  by  the  roadside  beyond  the  agitated  area  of 
the  station.  "Mother,  I  bring  you  a  visitor  to  supper, 
Monsieur  Marson,  whose  acquaintance  we  made  on  our 
summer  holiday.  He  is  on  his  way  to  the  port  and  has 
little  more  than  an  hour  to  spare.  We  must  hurry  on." 

He  gave  a  sharp  order  to  the  coachman,  then  followed 
Marson  into  the  carriage.  The  driver,  as  the  dragoman 
got  up  quickly  beside  him,  whistled  to  his  horses,  then 
whipped  them  into  a  smart  canter.  The  bells  on  their 
necks  rang  gayly  as  the  carriage  rolled  onward  in  a  cloud 
of  dust  between  lines  of  plane  trees  and  silver  poplars. 
The  road  crossed  the  valley  of  orchards  which  stretched 
north  and  south  of  the  town,  but  was  now  sadly  disturbed 
by  the  new  railway  line  and  its  ugly  paraphernalia  of 
sheds  and  work  shops. 

Events  were  marching,  and  fate  already  forging  links 
to  unite  them  with  her  family  without  any  interference 
on  her  own  part,  was  Mme.  Severin's  rueful  reflection 
as  with  surprise  but  cordiality  she  greeted  Pierre  Marson. 

"More  than  my  compatriot,"  she  added  warmly. 
"My  heart  is  with  France,  Monsieur.  You  must  be 
careful.  If  war  be  a  certainty,  as  people  declare,  can 
you  manage  to  escape  detention  before  reaching  the 
coast?" 

1 '  No  difficulty,  dear  Madame, ' '  he  said.  ' '  My  teskereh 
is  without  a  flaw,  and  I  hold  besides  an  extra  pass  signed 
by  no  less  a  personage  than  Baschid  Pasha.  Even  if  the 
fatal  break  has  already  occurred  nothing  can  stop  me. 
I  go  straight  through.  I  could  even  brave  Constanti- 
nople itself. ' ' 

'God  be  thanked!"  said  Anna  Severin,  thinking  more 
of  Veronica  than  the  man  before  her.  For  intuition  at 
once  flew  to  the  motive  inspiring  Marson 's  appearance 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          47 

with  Nicholas.  Her  heart  warmed  to  him  forgetting  its 
burden  of  foreboding  while  she  listened  to  a  rapid  sum- 
mary of  his  plans.  Her  woman's  eye  the  while  was 
quick  to  note  with  revived  interest  Marson's  resolute 
but  fine  profile,  the  keen  bright  eye,  the  slender  muscular 
grace  of  the  figure  bending  towards  her.  He  was  de- 
cidedly the  best  type  of  Frenchman — de  race — was  her 
lightning  reflection,  and  flecked  with  just  that  touch  of 
the  dare-devil  which  is  fascinating  to  many  women. 

The  garden  of  the  Severins  was  in  true  Oriental 
fashion  a  plantation  of  fruit  trees  of  many  varieties,  and 
flowering  shrubs  stretching  behind  high  stone  walls  from 
the  highway  to  the  edge  of  a  small  limpid  river.  Wide 
spreading  and  leafy  branches  of  a  group  of  mulberry 
trees  which  threw  their  shade  half  over  the  water  and 
half  over  the  sandy  soil,  overhung  the  garden  pavilion 
in  which  a  table  was  set  out  for  the  evening  meal. 

An  odor  of  cooking  emanated  from  a  small  lean-to 
where  a  native  woman  of  fifty,  dark-skinned  and  black 
eyed,  presided  over  a  brazier,  a  briskly  boiling  crock  and 
a  griddle. 

"They'll  be  here  before  you  are  ready,  I  know  they 
will,"  cried  Zia  through  the  trellis  work  at  intervals. 
"Amina,  do  you  hear?" 

"Rest  thy  mind  with  thy  legs,  little  mother  of  haste. 
All  in  its  own  time,  even  the  hour  of  the  evening  meal, ' ' 
came  soothingly  from  within  as  Amina  made  busy  among 
her  dishes  and  pots,  muttering  under  her  breath  the 
Arabic  equivalent  for  "Bless  the  child!  Why  she  can't 
let  me  be?" 

' '  I  tell  you  the  hour  is  late.  Hurry,  lazy  one !  And 
where  is  the  clotted  cream?  Oh,  what  a  scolding  you'll 
get !  I  never  saw  such  a  slow  coach. ' ' 


48         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"You  will  teach  me  to  cook,  little  wise  one!  That  is 
good,  but  wait  till  to-morrow  comes.  To-day  the  time  to 
learn  is  short,"  said  Amina,  imperturbably. 

"Vronfca!  Aunt  Vronka!  Why  do  you  stay  so  long 
with  Ali T  Tell  him  to  go  quickly.  I  want  you." 

Zia's  voice  was  fretful.  She  had  tired  herself  out  with 
play  and  now  exhausted  was  lying  stretched  out  on  a 
divan  at  the  entrance  of  the  garden  house.  Alternately 
her  head  turned  restlessly  to  peer  through  the  vine  foli- 
age and  fling  words  at  Amina,  and  to  call  out  to  Veronica 
who  stood  on  the  river  bank  looking  at  something  below. 

"I  am  coming,  Zia,  in  a  minute,"  she  called  over  her 
shoulder,  then  bent  forward  again  to  speak  to  a  slim 
young  Arab  arranging  himself  and  various  possessions 
in  a  small  boat.  "Tell  Zorah  I  will  ride  over  and  see  her 
to-morrow.  Have  you  all  the  packages  in  safety  ?  You 
must  hurry  or  the  night  will  overtake  you. ' ' 

"Maleish!    The  darkness  has  no  fears  for  me." 

"Of  course  not.    Are  you  not  a  son  of  the  Weldeh?" 

"By  Allah,  it  is  so!  It  is  the  truth,"  said  the  young 
man,  simply.  "Now  I  am  ready.  Peace  be  with  you !" 

"And  to  you  peace,  Sheikh  Ali!  God  give  you  safe 
journey,"  responded  Veronica,  as  pressing  an  oar  against 
the  bank  he  thrust  out  into  the  stream  and  started  to  row. 

She  stood  looking  after  him  with  grave  eyes  thinking 
hard  of  things  he  had  told  her.  He  had  come  to  the 
orchard  from  the  town  to  bring  a  message  from  his  sister, 
the  Arab  wife  of  the  Englishman,  John  Culver,  who  was 
brother-in-law  to  Nicholas.  Zorah,  having  matters  of  im- 
portance to  confide  to  her,  wished  to  see  her  at  El- 
Fereidus  as  soon  as  possible. 

At  any  other  time  Veronica  would  have  guessed  that 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT         49 

these  matters  concerned  such  vital  news  as  the  baby's 
new  tooth.  But  to-day  All  had  told  her  of  various  ru- 
mors in  the  Sukhs  and  had  hinted,  with  Arab  ambiguity 
and  suggestion,  of  strange  happenings  that  a  declaration 
of  war  would  disclose. 

"Yes,  I  am  stupid.  No  doubt  I  shall  ever  be  stupid 
in  the  eyes  of  my  little  wise  one,"  replied  the  patient 
Amina  to  further  reproof  from  her  small  tyrant,  "but 
wait  till  her  teeth  of  ivory  bite  into  the  honey  cake  I  am 
baking  for  her  alone." 

' '  Oh,  Amina !  A  honey  cake  and  all  for  me  ?  I  love 
you  for  it.  I  will — "  Zia  broke  off,  sat  up  in  a  listen- 
ing attitude  and  then  called  out  shrilly,  "Little  aunt, 
they  are  coming,  they  are  here.  But  some  one  is  with 
them.  I  hear  voices.  It  is  a  stranger — a  tall,  dark 
man. ' ' 

She  slipped  to  her  feet  and  limped  off  through  the 
trees. 

Veronica  started  at  her  words  and  looked  back  as  if 
hearing  distant  familiar  sounds. 

A  stranger !  Some  one  Zia  did  not  know.  Yet  no,  the 
child's  voice  already  rang  out  in  excited  words  of  recog- 
nition and  greeting. 

During  the  weeks  immediately  following  the  outbreak 
of  the  great  European  war  a  look  of  waiting  that  was 
almost  suspense  had  settled  into  Veronica's  eyes.  They 
had  taken  on  a  habit  of  looking  up  at  the  sound  of  every 
fresh  footstep,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  door.  Of 
Pierre  Marson  she  had  talked  confidentially  and 
anxiously  with  her  mother,  wondering  if  and  how  the 
news  had  gone  through  to  him,  and  whether  he  had  gone 
back  to  France. 

She  had  been  wracked  by  suspense  and  dread  con- 


5o         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

cerning  his  safety,  and  the  uncertainty  of  whether  under 
the  new  terrible  conditions  of  war  she  would  ever  see 
his  face  again. 

Then  suddenly  her  mood  had  become  dumbly  quiescent 
as  if  yielding  involuntarily  to  the  inherited  strain  of 
fatalism  in  her  veins.  Now  at  a  rush  all  the  early  fever 
of  unrest  was  back  again.  Without  a  moment's  warning 
a  cloud  of  the  unexpected  was  moving  straight  upon 
her.  Scarcely  could  she  summon  courage  to  face  it. 
For  a  few  seconds  she  remained  still  and  tragic  as  a 
figure  of  the  sphinx. 

Suddenly  she  paled,  giving  a  little  inarticulate  cry, 
paused  uncertainly  on  the  edge  of  the  river  bank  for  a 
few  more  breathless  seconds,  then  turned  and  walked 
slowly  forward.  For  though  her  eyes  might  deceive  her 
she  too  had  heard  a  voice,  a  voice  that  almost  made  her 
heart  stop  beating,  and  then  start  to  beat  faster  than 
ever  before.  And  now  she  glowed  from  head  to  foot. 
Then  all  at  once  she  heard  her  mother  speaking  to  her 
as  if  from  a  great  distance  away. 

"It  is  none  other  than  Monsieur  Marson,  my  child. 
Just  looking  in  upon  us  for  a  short  hour  before  con- 
tinuing his  journey  to  Scanderoon.  The  supper  must  be 
served  immediately,"  and  at  that  Mme.  Severiu  hurried 
off  to  Amina. 

Night  and  day  for  what  had  seemed  an  eternity  Pierre 
Marson 's  brain  had  been  filled  to  bursting  with  the  night- 
mare of  a  France  in  arms,  of  France,  his  beloved  France, 
in  dire  straits,  of  France  overrun  with  wolves  and  assas- 
sins, of  his  own  absence  in  this  appalling  crisis,  of  the 
maddening  distance  to  cover  before  he  could  get  back 
with  certain  valuable  information  in  his  possession. 

Yet  now  as  his  eyes  fell  on  Veronica,  for  a  moment  it 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          51 

seemed  there  was  a  great  burst  of  sunlight  across  that 
troubled  world  of  his  vision.  All  difficulties  lifted.  He 
felt  that  by  some  magic  he  had  been  suddenly  transported 
to  a  place  of  joy  and  peace,  that  the  pictures  of  battles, 
death,  and  disaster  painted  by  imagination  and  rumor, 
were  no  longer  real. 

In  the  expression  of  Veronica's  eyes  as  she  came  to 
meet  him  fear  and  joy  were  strangely  blended.  And 
there  was  something  behind,  a  kind  of  veiled  light. 

Pierre  made  his  way  towards  her  as  though  the  meet- 
ing had  been  pre-arranged  by  some  dim  decree  of  fate — 
who  shall  say  it  was  not  ?  He  saw  the  light  in  her  eyes, 
and  a  quick  flush  on  her  cheeks  as  of  the  early  dawn. 
With  a  smile  he  concealed  his  deep  inward  agitation  as 
they  met  face  to  face  and  shook  hands  with  apparent 
calmness,  and  for  a  moment  stood  looking  at  each  other. 
A  thousand  things  left  unsaid  seemed  to  be  understood 
between  them.  For  love  is  never  so  eloquent  as  when 
it  is  dumb. 

It  was  worth  it,  flashed  through  his  mind,  just  this  one 
moment  of  complete  understanding  eye  to  eye,  worth  all 
the  risks  imaginable.  He  was  glad  he  had  come,  how 
glad  he  scarcely  dared  admit.  For  though  his  soul  was 
on  fire  with  patriotic  fervors,  and  every  nerve  steeled 
to  the  paramount  importance  of  speed  and  secrecy  in 
getting  out  of  Syria  he  felt  that  this  brief  interlude  of 
reunion  would  inspire  him  to  act  hereafter  with  the 
strength  of  ten.  For  his  love  for  Veronica  now  stood 
revealed  with  flashlight  certainty  as  a  something  splendid 
and  enveloping,  a  something  transcending  all  emotion 
and  passion  he  had  ever  experienced.  In  a  word  it  was 
the  grand  passion  which  comes  once  and  once  only  in  a 
lifetime. 


52         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"  Ah !"  said  Verpnica,  speaking  with  an  effort  at  last. 
"You— you  have  come,  after  all." 

"After  all?  I  never  intended  to  do  anything  else  but 
come,"  he  said  with  the  fire  that  marked  his  utterance, 
as  he  raised  her  hand  to  press  it  to  his  lips,  kissing  it 
with  all  a  lover's  ardor. 

Nicholas  Severin  looked  at  them  both  searchingly, 
then  wheeled  sharply  round,  hastily  calling  Zia's  atten- 
tion to  his  pockets. 

She  fell  upon  them  as  to  a  favorite  game  full  of 
perennial  surprises.  Slowly,  imperceptibly,  diverting 
her  all  the  time  by  word  and  gesture,  he  drew  her  to  the 
little  vine-overhung  pavilion  where  his  mother  was  add- 
ing another  cover  to  the  table  after  ordering  supper  to 
be  served  on  the  minute. 

"How  did  you  happen  to  meet  him?"  she  asked, 
hurriedly. 

Nicholas  explained. 

"I  wish  you  had  missed  each  other,"  she  added,  speak- 
ing in  Turkish  on  account  of  the  child.  "She  might 
have  forgotten  him  then.  And  yet — " 

"Till  this  instant  I  hadn't  an  idea  that  it  was  a  serious 
affair  between  the  two,  though  now  it  is  plain  enough  to 
be  seen,"  he  said,  his  forehead  wrinkling  in  deep  lines. 

"He  is  of  my  dear,  adopted  country,"  she  continued 
with  the  anxious  look  of  one  who  looks  ahead  of  the 
present  moment.  "If  there  had  been  no  war  all  would 
have  been  well.  But  there !  It  is  destiny  which  will  not 
be  denied.  My  poor  girl !  And  he  leaves  so  soon.  Who 
knows  if  we  shall  ever  see  him  again ! ' ' 

"You  speak  of  the  matter  as  a  foregone  conclusion. 
We  still  have  Rosen  to  reckon  with,"  said  the  doctor, 
abstractedly. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          53 

"No,  Zia,  you  must  wait  a  moment.  Veronica  is  com- 
ing directly." 

Zia  bad  dragged  her  chair  to  the  table  and  was  calling 
loudly  to  Amina. 

"Naughty  girl!"  exclaimed  the  grandmother.  "Is 
that  the  way  to  behave  when  a  guest  is  here?" 

"I  am  hungry,"  declared  Zia,  tossing  her  curls  over 
her  shoulders,  and  beginning  to  thump  the  table  with  a 
fork.  "Aunt  Veronica  is  always  talking  to  somebody 
when  I  want  her  to  come.  First  it  was  Ali, ' '  here  Mme. 
Severin  and  her  son  exchanged  a  rapid  look  of  enquiry, 
"and  now  Monsieur  Marson.  It  is  my  turn  to  talk  now 
and  to  eat.  I  am  hungry. ' ' 

A  wave  of  shyness  swept  over  Veronica  at  the  touch  of 
Pierre's  lips  on  her  hand.  She  trembled  under  the  fire 
of  his  absorbing  look.  Its  message  burned  itself  into 
her  heart. 

The  scents  of  aromatic  shrubs  and  herbs  saturated  the 
air.  Everywhere  sounded  the  shrill  chirping  of  grass- 
hoppers and  the  drowsy  drumming  of  winged  insects. 
Somewhere  near  breathed  the  cooing  note  of  a  pigeon. 
The  calm  of  approaching  sunset  was  over  the  land. 

A  little  idyll  of  Eden  was  being  enacted  in  one  small 
garden  of  an  earth  which  elsewhere  was  being  wracked 
with  war  and  all  its  horrors.  The  one  man  had  found 
the  one  woman  made  to  be  his  mate.  He  knew  it.  She 
felt  it.  Both  were  suddenly  caught  up  by  the  power 
moving  them  into  a  state  that  lies  entirely  outside  time. 

"You  knew  that  I  could  not  go  away  without  seeing 
you  again?"  he  whispered. 

"And  I,  too,  wished  very  much  to  see  you,"  said 
Veronica,  softly,  with  a  little  break  in  her  voice. 

Overcome  by  his  emotions  and  the  stringent  need  for 


54         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

holding  them  on  the  curb,  Pierre  drew  himself  up  with  a 
sharp  movement  and  gazed  fixedly  over  the  river.  He 
saw  nothing  that  was  visibly  before  his  eyes  for  the 
moment.  For  the  sting  of  a  bitter  reality  was  pricking 
him  hard.  He  was  on  the  verge  of  placing  the  width 
of  Europe  between  himself  and  the  girl  he  loved.  How 
could  he  bear  to  leave  her  behind  in  a  land  under  the 
power  of  the  Turk,  who  was  fast  becoming  the  enemy 
of  France  as  none  knew  better  than  himself  ? 

His  face  was  colorless  beneath  the  dark  tan  of  his 
cheeks  as  he  turned  suddenly  and  took  her  hand.  His 
eyes  were  shining. 

"I  must  not  say  what  to-day  I  have  no  right  to  say," 
he  said,  speaking  with  difficulty.  "France  is  calling 
me.  She  has  the  greatest  need  of  all  her  children. 
They  must  put  every  thing  behind  them  except  duty  and 
love  to  her.  I  dare  not  delay  a  day,  scarcely  an  hour 
to  tell  you  all  that  is  in  my  heart — but — when  and  if — I 
come  back,  Veronica,"  he  broke  off,  looking  deep  into 
her  eyes,  which  big  and  darkly  blue  were  regarding  him 
steadfastly. 

"Have  no  fear !  I  will  wait  for  you  to  the  end  of  my 
life,"  she  said  simply,  in  a  full  firm  voice. 

As  she  spoke  these  words  a  great  calm  fell  upon  both. 
For  it  is  only  doubt,  and  the  failure  of  the  word  of 
certainty  that  stirs  into  a  state  of  gnawing  unrest  the 
heart's  hidden  wealth  of  love.  That  a  man's  mind  was 
not  unlikely  to  change  during  an  indefinite  absence  when 
things  would  be  moving  with  impetuous  rapidity  never 
entered  Veronica's  head.  And  that  the  look  in  her  eyes 
could  ever  shed  its  glow  of  tenderness  on  another  man 
than  himself  was  also  an  impossible  thought.  Fidelity 
and  love  ait  that  moment  were  interchangeable  realities. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          55 

Mme.  Severin  came  to  the  doorway  of  the  pavilion  to 
look  out  into  the  garden.  As  if  her  eyes  were  dazzled 
by  the  golden  sunlight  piercing  the  foliage  she  made  a 
screen  of  her  hand  above  them.  For  a  moment  she  stood 
there  silent  and  watchful  with  a  growing  ache  at  her 
heart.  All  the  yearning  of  motherhood's  prescience 
was  in  her  gaze. 

Then  she  called  in  a  caressing  voice,  "Veronica! 
Supper  is  served." 


CHAPTER  VI 

/COFFEE  had  been  served.  Zia  had  gone  off  with 
\jl  Amina  to  feed  various  animal  pets  in  the  garden. 

Involuntarily  the  circle  at  the  table  drew  closer  to- 
gether. Tension  strung  the  moments  taut.  Nerves 
tingled,  though  any  show  of  emotion  was  rigidly  sup- 
pressed. Their  voices  were  low  as  of  those  who  speak  in 
confidence  and  have  much  to  compress  into  swiftly  flying 
time. 

Pierre  Marson  had  touched  on  the  difficulty  of  choosing 
a  route  home.  Whether  to  strike  down  the  river  to  the 
Persian  gulf  and  thence  to  France  by  way  of  the  Red 
Sea,  or  to  journey  hurriedly  through  Syria  to  a  Levan- 
tine port.  His  eyes,  vivacious  and  dark,  darting  from 
one  to  the  other  of  his  listeners  and  returning  ever  to 
look  with  intensity  at  Veronica's  absorbed  face,  indicated 
that  something  stronger  than  a  choice  of  longer  or  shorter 
route,  or  greater  or  lesser  danger  had  brought  to»a  head 
his  decision  to  pass  through  Opella. 

Now  they  were  rid  of  the  child  he  sketched  in  curt, 
telling  words  the  unrest  of  the  districts  he  had  passed 
through.  In  the  East  conviction  never  waits  upon  evi- 
dence, and  rumors  spreading  from  the  vast  sounding 
board  of  Islam  were  reverberating  in  every  village,  in 
every  nomad  camp,  in  every  caravan  of  travelers,  all 
magnified  and  greatly  distorted  by  reason  of  their  me- 
dium of  a  myriad  voices  and  as  many  opinions. 

Strong  traces  of  a  German  propaganda  of  hostility  to 
56 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          57 

France,  England  and  Russia  he  had  found  everywhere. 
Evil  insinuations  were  rife  that  all  three  powers  were 
working  hard  hand  in  hand  to  keep  millions  of  Orientals 
in  slavery,  and  at  one  dire,  united  stroke  to  destroy 
Islam. 

"We  have  sucked  the  Orient  dry  to  our  own  sole  ad- 
vantage is  what  these  rascally  Germans  say,"  said 
Marson,  his  voice  shaken  by  resentment  and  sharp  with 
anger,  ' '  and  that  we  have  simply  exploited  the  land  for 
our  own  benefit.  I  tell  you,  doctor,  the  atmosphere  I 
have  come  through  is  inflammable  with  hot  suspicions 
against  the  Entente  Powers.  God  knows  how  and  where 
to  find  the  right  counteractive.  I  burn  with  'anxiety  to 
get  back  and  disclose  all  I  know  in  the  right  quarter. 
And  after  that  I  should  not  be  one  whit  surprised  to  be 
sent  back  again  at  express  speed. ' ' 

He  pressed  his  lips  tightly  together  as  if  he  could 
have  said  much  more,  but  refrained.  A  certain  hard- 
ness came  into  his  face.  His  eyes  were  like  steel. 

Veronica's  eyes  widened  and  her  lips  parted.  A 
stimulating  warmth  ran  through  her  veins,  melting  the 
chill  which  Pierre's  approaching  absence  had  pierced 
her  heart.  She  bent  forward  clasping  her  hands  as  she 
looked  at  Pierre,  quite  unaware  of  the  tenderness  in  her 
face.  But  in  a  minute  this  look  was  chased  by  another 
expressing  solicitude,  vivid  wonder  and  a  growing 
suspense. 

"How?  That  is  not  possible,"  exclaimed  Nicholas, 
shortly. 

"Not  possible?  My  friend,  you  little  know  me  or 
my  resources,"  retorted  Pierre,  almost  boyishly,  his  eyes 
sparkling  as  he  leaned  over  the  table  and  still  further 
lowered  his  tones,  "and  I  guarantee  that  the  next  time 


58         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

we  run  across  each  other  as  to-day  you  will  pass  me  by 
without  the  least  recognition.  Remember  I  was  brought 
up  in  the  East.  To  this  day  my  father's  name  as  a 
hakim  of  miraculous  healing  power  is  one  to  conjure  with 
in  Bagdad  and  its  whole  district.  Did  I  tell  you  that 
Raschid  Pasha  himself  went  out  of  his  way  to  pay  me 
unnecessary  attentions?" 

"Such  attentions  hide  wheels  within  wheels.  Oftener 
than  not  they  are  the  prelude  to  something  sinister," 
said  Nicholas.  "Never  trust  them!" 

"I  know,  I  know!  Intrigue  is  their  food  and  drink. 
You  can  teach  me  nothing  there.  What  I  mean  is  this. 
Turkey  has  no  real  quarrel  with  me,  a  Frenchman, 
Turkey  has  no  desire  to  go  to  war  with  France.  It  is 
only  our  mortal  enemy,  Germany,  trying  to  attack  us 
from  another  quarter." 

Mme.  Severin  and  her  son  exchanged  a  quick  glance, 
Otto  Rosen  and  his  blatant  assertions  springing  spon- 
taneously to  the  minds  of  both. 

"Germany's  policy  in  the  East  has  long  been  an  open 
secret,"  said  Nicholas.  "She  poses  as  the  protector  of 
Turkey,  especially  at  this  moment.  It  is  with  that  same 
policy  the  Entente  Powers  must  reckon  to-day,  that 
above  all." 

"And  a  policy  she  will  stick  to  whatever  happens  I 
expect,"  put  in  Pierre,  bitterly.  "The  violators  of 
Belgium  will  jib  at  nothing." 

"Yes,  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  they  support 
the  New  Turk  Party,  which  favors  them  on  account  of 
their  own  absolute  confidence  in  the  greater  future  of 
Germany." 

Pierre  Marson  gave  a  contemptuous  little  laugh. 
"The  Kaiser  made  that  choice  long  ago,"  he  said, 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          59 

shortly,  "and  sealed  it  in  that  memorable  embrace  of 
Abdul  Hamid  on  the  steps  of  the  Bosphorus  palace.  He 
made  himself  an  ally  of  the  Red  Sultan  simply  to  en- 
courage his  own  importance  in  the  near  East." 

"Be  careful,  my  friend,"  said  Mme.  Severin.  "Hard 
experience  has  taught  us  never  to  utter  such  sentiments 
even  in  a  whisper,  whatever  we  hide  in  our  hearts. ' ' 

"Pardon,  dear  madame,"  he  said,  hurriedly,  with  a 
pleading  glance.  "Let  us  come  back  to  ourselves.  Tell 
me  exactly  how  you  stand  with  regard  to  this  crisis," 
turning  to  speak  directly  to  Dr.  Severin.  Acute  anxiety 
showed  in  both  voice  and  look. 

"You  see  it  will  not  be  a  war  of  patriotism  for  us. 
How  could  we  fight  with  a  willing  heart  against  France 
and  her  Allies  ?  It  will  be  nothing  but  a  struggle  against 
that  very  Liberty  for  which  we  have  striven  <and  suffered 
for  years.  Do  you  know, ' '  Nicholas,  speaking  rapidly  in 
a  highly  nervous  tone,  now  lowered  his  voice  to  a 
whisper,  "news  has  come  through  secretly  that  six 
hundred  Armenians  of  Paris  and  America  are  already 
enrolled  as  volunteers  in  the  French  Army  ? ' ' 

"Bravo!"  ejaculated  Pierre. 

"Our  people  are  brave  as  lions,  but  you  know  in  this 
land  they  have  no  arms, ' '  continued  the  doctor,  bitterly, 
"and  if  they  had  they  lack  training  and  discipline." 

"No  arms  to  act  independently,  you  mean,  Nicholas," 
put  in  Veronica,  quickly,  a  depth  of  passion  thrilling 
in  her  words,  for  she,  too,  was  imbued  with  no  small 
measure  of  the  spirit  of  her  father. 

"Yes,  yes,  for  since  the  obligation  of  military  service 
has  been  extended  to  Christians,  our  youngest  and 
strongest  men  are  placed  in  the  active  army  of  Turkey. ' ' 

"Of  course  in  ordinary  times  it  is  only  fair  the 


60         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Christians  should  help  the  Moslems  to  bear  the  burden 
of  war,"  said  Pierre,  "but  it  will  go  terribly  against  the 
grain  for  you  to  side  with  Turkey  against  the  great 
Powers  which  have  always  been  your  friends,  and  are 
now  waging  war  for  liberty." 

"Liberty  and  Progress!"  exclaimed  Mme.  Severin, 
carried  beyond  her  usual  caution.  "The  false  cry  of  onr 
tyrants,  but  never  from  the  beginning  have  they  held 
to  its  promise.  I  was  in  Beyrout  on  my  way  to  France 
to  visit  my  parents  at  the  time  of  the  festivities  which 
were  held  to  celebrate  the  new  era  of  Liberty  and  Prog- 
ress. I  was  an  eye  witness  to  the  apparent  reconcilia- 
tion of  Moslem,  Christian  and  Jew.  Moslem  ulemas  and 
Christian  priests  embraced  in  the  open  street.  They 
drove  through  the  town  side  by  side  in  the  same  carriage. 
My  heart  was  heavy.  The  reality  of  this  millennium  of 
peace  among  so  many  jarring  elements  seemed  a  farce. 
My  presentiments  were  true  enough,  for  in  less  than  a 
year  the  sole  reward  of  Armenian  loyalty  and  fidelity  to 
the  new  government  was  massacre,  terrible  and  bloody 
massacre.  Once  again  we  lost  many  friends  and  rela- 
tives. They  were  murdered,  foully  murdered. ' ' 

Veronica  pulled  her  chair  close  up  to  her  mother. 

"There,  there,  little  Mother!  Do  not  speak  of  it. 
You  will  make  yourself  ill,"  she  said,  putting  her  arm 
round  the  older  woman 's  shoulder. 

"Yes,  Monsieur  Marson,  and  you  would  hardly  believe 
that  even  after  the  heart  breaking  disillusion  at  Adana 
my  husband's  martyred  race  still  remained  faithful  to 
Turkey,"  continued  Anna  Severin  with  a  hurried  stac- 
cato utterance  showing  how  deeply  she  was  moved. 
"During  the  Balkan  war  Turkey  had  no  soldiers  more 
devoted  and  loyal  and  courageous  than  her  Armenian 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          61 

subjects.  God  alone  knows  what  will  be  the  issue  if 
these  same  faithful  souls  are  dragged  into  a  war  against 
their  conscience  and  against  every  sane  notion  of  liberty. 
If  they  rebel — "  she  raised  her  hands  with  an  expres- 
sive gesture. 

"All  my  unhappy  country  has  wanted  or  demanded 
at  any  time  has  been  security  of  life  with  some  kind  of 
protection  of  our  national  goods  by  a  kind  of  autonomy. 
Nothing  more ! ' '  said  Nicholas  with  a  gloomy  fieriness. 

"In  one  word,  life,  and  freedom  to  live  it,"  said 
Pierre,  emphatically. 

His  eyes,  full  of  thoughts,  with  a  quick  intentness  in 
their  gaze,  rested  first  on  one  then  on  the  other.  He  was 
reflecting  rapidly,  being  a  man  to  make  rapid  conclusions 
and  then  draw  up  a  definite  plan  to  meet  them.  With 
presentiments  hammering  at  his  heart  he  looked  fixedly 
at  Veronica,  whose  protective  attitude  towards  her 
mother  filled  him  with  a  passion  of  yearning.  Of  her 
grave  deep  blue  eyes,  soft  and  luminous  in  the  waning 
light,  he  saw  chiefly  the  gaze-  suggested  under  a  sweep 
of  straight  dark  eyebrows. 

"  I  am  going  to  propose  something  startling, ' '  he  said 
suddenly,  bending  forward  and  speaking  quietly  though 
every  word  was  clear.  "It  is  this.  That  you  all  leave 
Opella  with  me  this  very  night  and  come  back  to  France, 
your  true  foster  mother.  That  you  leave  all  without 
looking  back,  without  regret.  Take  nothing  into  ac- 
count except  the  fact  that  to-morrow  may  be  too  late. 
Don't  speak  yet!  Think  it  over!  Consider  well  that 
my  proposal  is  no  idle  suggestion.  The  fact  that  I  make 
it  proves  my  personal  serious  view  of  the  situation.  Be 
advised !  Come ! ' ' 

Veronica,   suddenly   white   and  trembling,   held  her 


62          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

breath  in  an  anguish  of  suspense.  Her  gaze  hung  spell- 
bound on  the  vivid  face  of  her  lover.  Then  she  turned 
and  stared  at  her  brother  while  her  arm  still  clasping 
her  mother  tightened  unconsciously. 

With  startled  attention  Nicholas  Severin  followed 
Pierre's  speech.  A  quivering  light  leaped  to  his  eyes. 
His  mother  looked  only  at  him.  When  Pierre  ceased  to 
speak  but  still  tried  to  compel  them  to  his  will  with  the 
eagerness  of  his  gaze,  she  touched  her  son  on  the  arm. 

"Speak,  Nicholas!  It  is  for  you  to  reply,"  she  said, 
tersely. 

"Not  possible!"  he  ejaculated,  abruptly,  his  face 
setting  firmly  though  his  sensitive  nostrils  quivered. 
"Run  away  from  my  father's  people?  Leave  my  sick 
to  their  fate?  Prove  by  my  own  flight  the  disloyalty 
tacked  on  under  every  pretext  to  the  Armenians?  In 
my  turn,  my  friend,  I  can  say  you  do  not  know  me. 
You  cannot  tempt  me.  You  do  not  realize  what  you 
ask.  It  is  the  impossible.  I  am  neither  a  coward  nor  a 
deserter. ' ' 

Pierre  Marson  colored  hotly.  He  got  up  hastily  and 
went  to  the  doorway  as  if  to  gain  self-mastery  over  sud- 
den upwelling  emotions. 

Veronica  raised  her  hand  to  her  eyes  and  dashed  away 
two  bright  drops  that  threatened  to  roll  down  her  cheeks. 
Nicholas  looked  sternly  before  him.  Mme.  Severin  got 
up  and  began  with  nervous  fingers  to  arrange  a  basket 
of  fruit  for  her  guest  to  carry  away  for  the  journey. 

The  tragedy  underlying  her  recent  words  was  still 
present  to  Pierre's  mind  as  he  gazed  unseeingly  over  the 
garden.  Standing  there  the  air  seemed  heavy  with 
portent.  The  swift  shortening  of  the  moments  spent 
with  Veronica  came  to  him  with  sickening  realization. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT         63 

He  was  seized  with  horrible  fear,  fear  of  hideous  evil 
lying  in  wait  in  that  vague  and  agitated  future.  If 
only  he  could  have  taken  her  away  with  him,  just  have 
flung  around  her  an  enveloping  mantle  and  carried  her 
off  like  a  Bedouin  his  newly  made  bride.  With  that  mad 
passionate  desire  uppermost  pressing  all  other  considera- 
tions aside  a  second  inspiration  came  to  him. 

He  turned  with  decision  and  came  back  to  the  table. 

" Pardon  me,  mon  bon  ami,"  he  said,  putting  his  hand 
on  the  doctor's  shoulder.  "You  are  perfectly  right.  I 
see  your  point  of  view  and  admire  your  courage.  But 
you  have  a  mother,  a  daughter,  a  sister,  for  whom  at  any 
moment  the  position  may  be  suddenly  serious.  And  how 
can  a  man  either  work  or  fight  at  his  best  when  he  knows 
his  womenfolk  are  in  danger  ?  It  is  best  to  be  prepared. 
Trust  them  to  my  care !  Be  wise  in  advance,"  he  paused 
impressively,  imbued  by  his  own  words  with  a  growing 
sense  of  the  necessity  for  prompt  action.  "The  carriage 
coming  for  me  will  accommodate  them  as  well.  I  will 
be  their  faithful  escort.  Nothing  shall  harm  them.  I 
swear  that — " 

"No,  Monsieur  Marson,  no!  We  could  not  leave  my 
son  alone,"  interrupted  Anna  Severin,  very  pale  and 
still,  while  her  eyes,  proud  and  fond,  looked  steadily  at 
Nicholas. 

Dumbly  Pierre  turned  to  Veronica. 

Her  face  grew  white  and  tense  under  the  appeal  of  his 
eyes.  She  shook  her  head  unable  to  speak.  He  could 
not  and  would  not  accept  finality  in  this  wordless  reply, 
and  dropped  into  the  empty  seat  beside  her.  He  took 
her  hand  and  pressed  it  as  a  man  does  when  urging  a 
vital  point  that  lies  very  near  his  heart. 

"Try  to  persuade  them  with  me,"  he  said  in  a  voice 


64          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

that  was  abrupt  and  hoarse.  "The  time  is  very  short, 
but  it  can  be  done.  We  can  hasten  the  speed." 

"I  must  stay  with  Mother  and  Nicholas,  of  course. 
Nothing  else  is  possible,"  she  said  at  last,  trying  to  keep 
her  lips  from  trembling.  "We  cannot  go  away  without 
him.  Beside,  Zia  might  be  ill  and  he  alone  understands 
how  to  treat  her.  No,  it  is  not  possible." 

Pierre  was  not  too  blinded  by  his  fears  of  future  perils 
to  feel  with  intuition  that  only  a  sense  of  duty  would 
sway  the  girl  to  action  one  way  or  the  other.  As  this 
sense  of  duty  weighed  in  the  scale  of  decision  against  his 
advice  he  knew  it  was  now  hopeless  to  persist.  But  he 
felt  sick  inwardly  at  the  thought  of  the  girl's  fragrant 
beauty  blooming  on  the  stormy  background  of  war  in 
surroundings  where  dangers  would  be  of  a  nature  at  once 
more  brutal  and  insidious  than  in  the  Western  arena. 

For  not  yet  had  the  full  toll  of  German  atrocities  in 
Belgium  and  on  his  own  native  soil  come  to  his  knowl- 
edge. Their  horror  was  to  strike  like  a  barbed  arrow 
into  his  soul  at  a  later  hour. 

Tension  seemed  at  breaking  point.  Emotion  of  va- 
rious forms  inflated  every  heart.  Upon  Veronica  and 
Pierre  the  darkening  shadow  of  separation  had  a  numb- 
ing effect. 

Suddenly  Nicholas  Severin  stirred,  throwing  off  his 
stern  abstraction.  He  looked  around  with  his  normal 
quiet  but  genial  expression,  then  stretched  out  his  hand 
to  take  a  cigar  from  an  open  case  on  the  table.  Deliber- 
ately he  struck  a  light. 

"We  are  walking  out  to  meet  imaginary  trouble,"  he 
said.  "Let  us  face  the  facts.  In  case  of  war  my  work 
will  go  on  as  usual,  but  its  output  will  be  doubled,  per- 
haps trebled." 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          65 

"You  may  be  attached  to  an  Army  Medical  unit  for 
active  service,"  put  in  Pierre,  promptly. 

"Not  at  all  likely.  My  hospital  is  so  well  adapted  .for 
the  purpose  that  I  am  quite  sure  it  will  be  utilized  as  a 
base  military  hospital.  I  shall  need  all  the  help  I  can 
get." 

' '  Another  reason  we  cannot  desert  my  son, ' '  said  Mme. 
Severin,  addressing  Pierre.  "We  must  have  no  worry 
about  Zia.  Our  kitchen  will  supplement  more  than  ever 
the  needs  of  the  patients.  My  daughter  is  not  only  a 
good  nurse  but  has  learnt  to  dispense  when  the  doctor 
is  overworked." 

"Then  all  your  efforts  are  to  be  used  for  the  benefit 
of  Turks  and  Germans, ' '  said  Pierre  in  a  sarcastic  voice 
as  the  personality  of  Herr  Rosen  flashed  across  his  mind. 
"I  forgot  certainly  that  you  might  always  rely,  in  case 
of  necessity,  upon  the  good-will  of  that  German  consul 
you  know  so  well. ' ' 

"That  is  true,"  said  Nicholas,  calmly. 

"Nicholas!  What  are  you  saying?  Rely  on  the 
enemy  of  France?  Never!"  exclaimed  Veronica  with 
sudden  heat,  and  then  overcome  almost  to  tears  by  the 
surprised  glance  of  her  brother  and  the  eager  joy  with 
which,  Pierre  turned  to  look  into  her  face,  she  got  up  and 
went  hurriedly  into  the  garden. 

"Of  course  all  our  hopes  were  centered  on  France  and 
England,"  Nicholas  resumed  in  a  strained  voice.  "Now 
these  are  crushed  by  the  probable  entrance  of  Turkey 
into  the  war  against  them  it  will  be  chiefly  to  America  we 
shall  look  in  any  hour  of  danger.  The  United  States 
consul  of  Opella  is  as  good  a  friend  of  ours  as  Herr 
Rosen." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,  my  friend, ' '  said  Pierre,  dryly, 


66          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

as  he  looked  at  his  watch.  "I  fear  the  carriage  is  al- 
ready waiting.  It  is  more  than  time  for  me  to  be 
getting  on. ' ' 

"I  will  go  at  once  and  see,"  said  Dr.  Severin,  jump- 
ing up. 

Left  alone  Pierre  Marson  cast  an  eager,  scrutinizing 
look  into  the  garden,  then  turned  with  an  impulsive 
gesture  to  Mme.  Severin,  and  took  her  hands. 

"Mother  of  Veronica,  I  love  your  daughter.  If  I  come 
safely  through  the  war  will  you  be  my  mother  also  ? "  he 
asked  with  simplicity,  not  ashamed  to  look  into  her  face 
with  dimmed  eyes. 

She  returned  his  gaze  with  a  gravity  that  studied  him. 
Then  with  a  curious  little  glow  in  her  eyes  she  said, 
"If  Veronica  herself  wishes  it,  but  till  then  you  must 
wait  to  ask  her.  Who  can  read  the  future?" 

He  glanced  quickly  at  her  with  anxiety  in  his  eyes. 

"She  will  remember?"  he  said,  earnestly. 

"Can  you  ask?"  she  returned,  significantly. 

He  stooped,  kissed  her  hands,  then  drew  himself  up, 
straightened  his  shoulders  with  a  resolute  gesture  and 
went  out  of  the  pavilion. 

Voices  guided  his  steps.  Bound  the  bend  of  the  path 
he  came  to  an  open  space  between  the  trees.  Zia  stood 
there,  a  basket  in  her  hand,  her  fair  curls  falling  in  a 
tangle  over  one  shoulder  as  she  looked  up  at  Veronica 
with  delight  in  her  delicate  face. 

"Here  they  come!    Now!"  she  shouted,  gleefully. 

Veronica  was  standing  still  with  her  head  up  and  well 
back.  She  held  both  her  hands  extended  filled  with 
grain,  and  uttered  a  little  cooing  call  with  her  throat. 

A  number  of  pigeons  came  wheeling  down  from  the 
trees  'around  and  tumbled  about  the  girls,  pigeons  of 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          67 

varied  soft-hued  plumage  with  curious  nostrils,  both 
swelled  and  rough.  They  perched  confidingly  on  Ver- 
onica's shoulders,  wrists,  and  even  her  head,  filling  the 
air  with  their  tender  cooing  notes,  and  began  indus- 
triously to  pick  up  the  grain. 

The  blood  mounted  to  Pierre's  face.  He  drew  a  long 
breath,  gazing  with  a  wild  passion  of  wistful  despair  at 
the  beautiful  sight.  As  he  hurried  toward  the  spot  he 
heard  Mme.  Severin  's  voice. 

"Zia,  I  am  going  to  the  garden  door  with  a  bag  of  fruit 
for  Monsieur  Marson.  I  want  you  to  help  me." 

"It  is  finished,"  said  Veronica,  scattering  the  re- 
mainder of  the  grain  on  the  groud.  ' '  Eun  to  Meme  and 
give  me  the  basket. ' ' 

Eager  for  the  new  diversion  Zia  ran  off  at  once. 
Veronica  was  holding  one  of  the  birds  in  the  hollow  of 
her  neck  and  stroking  it  gently.  The  pigeon,  dove- 
colored,  and  with  large  bright  eyes,  pecked  at  her  blouse, 
but  seemed  well  content  to  be  fondled. 

"I  am  going  to  put  my  little  Zuleika  in  a  basket  for 
you  to  take  away  with  you, ' '  she  said,  speaking  to  Pierre 
as  if  he  had  been  with  her  all  the  time.  He  saw  as  she 
looked  round  at  him  that  her  eyes  were  full  of  unshed 
tears. 

' '  The  pigeon  ?  Is  it  yours  ?  How  I  shall  prize  it ! "  he 
said,  earnestly. 

"It  is  not  to  carry  over  the  sea,"  she  added,  quickly. 
"It  is  for  you  to  send  back  here  from  Scanderoon.  She 
has  often  made  the  journey.  When  she  comes  back  she 
will  tell  us  you  are  safe. ' ' 

"Veronica!" 

"Please  raise  the  cover  and  I  will  put  her  inside  the 
basket.  See,  it  is  all  ready  with  a  little  store  of  grain 


68         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

and  water  at  the  comers.  Just  here  under  the  wing  is 
the  place  to  fasten  a  little  note." 

"How  long  will  the  bird  be  flying  back  to  you?"  he 
asked  in  a  husky  voice,  holding  the  basket  while 
Veronica  deftly  transferred  the  pigeon  to  its  snug  nest 
and  immediately  fastened  it  in. 

Pierre,  overcome  by  the  nearness  and  dearness  of  her, 
was  fast  losing  his  composure.  The  absolute  certainty 
of  Veronica's  love  had  transported  him  on.  the  instant 
into  that  condition  of  mind,  desperate  and  agitated, 
which  threatens  by  one  mad  single  impulse  to  cut  all 
apart  from  a  man's  life  but  the  absorbing  love  of  an 
individual  and  make  a  complete  volteface.  Honor,  pa- 
triotic ardor,  self  sacrifice,  were  being  tossed  as  leaves 
of  no  account  on  the  love  current,  unruly  and  relentless 
as  a  river  in  spate,  which  raced  through  his  veins. 

"About  eight  to  ten  hours,"  said  Veronica  in  a  faint 
voice,  ever  swift  to  feel  the  effect  of  mental  atmosphere 
and  never  more  so  than  at  this  moment. 

At  that  critical  juncture  a  voice  called  out  of  the 
distance.  "The  carriage  waits  and  the'  driver  is  in  a 
hurry  to  be  off." 

Like  a  soldier  called  to  attention  Pierre  drew  himself 
up  stiffly.  But  still  he  looked  at  Veronica.  He  was 
struggling  with  a  new  weakness,  the  sense  of  helplessness 
which  comes  to  one  in  face  of  the  inevitable.  How  was 
he  going  to  say  good-by? 

Veronica  herself  relieved  the  strain  for  both  by  walk- 
ing  in  the  direction  of  the  voice.  Mechanically  he  paced 
by  her  side,  his  face  becoming  grave  and  fixed  as  sud- 
denly he  remembered  Mme.  Severin's  words. 

The  girl  stopped  short  at  the  last  bend  of  the  path  and 
turned  to  him.  She  could  not  face  the  parting  at  the 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          69 

gate  with  spectators  around.  The  color  came  and  went 
in  her  face.  Her  lips  beginning  to  tremble  she  reso- 
lutely set  them  firm. 

"Go  quickly!  Every  minute  is  precious  on  such  a 
journey,"  she  said  with  a  brave  look  in  her  blue  eyes 
revealing  that  whatever  peril  or  trial  might  lie  ahead  at 
any  rate  the  spirit  within  her  would  quail  before  neither. 
"May  God  protect  you  on  the  way,  and  preserve  you  in 
danger!"  she  added  in  an  Eastern  strain.  "Always  in 
my  heart  I  shall  pray  for  you." 

She  found  it  impossible  to  articulate  another  word. 
Something  throbbing  in  her  throat  was  choking  her. 
But  with  a  strenuous  effort  she  preserved  her  control, 
looking  into  his  face  with  calm  and  tender  eyes. 

He  took  the-  little  basket  containing  the  pigeon  from 
her  outstretched  hand.  Then  he  put  his  arm  round  her 
and  kissed  her  on  the  lips,  the  eyes,  the  hair.  For  a 
moment  he  held  her  clasped  as  though  he  must  hold  her 
and  never  part  from  her  all  his  life  long. 

"I  shall  love  you  forever,"  he  said,  hoarsely,  and 
then  sped  away,  not  daring  to  pause  for  another  second. 

Before  disappearing  between  the  trees  he  looked 
around  as  if  conscious  that  the  moment  was  to  be  one  of 
the  indelible  memories  of  his  life. 

The  last  sight  of  Veronica  was  of  a  tall  graceful  figure, 
finely  molded  in  all  its  lines,  a  still  face  of  ivory  pallor 
set  in  a  nimbus  of  hair  black  as  night.  She  stood  sil- 
houetted for  an  instant  against  the  sky  showing  between 
the  trees,  then  she  turned  to  hide  the  tears  streaming 
down  her  cheeks  and  walked  quickly  away. 


CHAPTER  VH 

A  CLOUD  of  dust  far  up  the  road,  a  faint  and  ever 
fainter  jingling  of  bells  gave  back  -to  the  group 
watching  at  the  garden  door  the  last  sign  of  Pierre  Mar- 
son  'B  flying  visit  to  Opella.  A  glance  into  the  carriage 
so  swiftly  disappearing  from  sight  would  have  showed 
him  gazing  with  a  fixed  persistency  into  space,  the  cigar 
lighted  before  starting  dying  out  between  his  fingers. 
Before  the  concentrated  eye  of  the  mind  one  image  only 
was  visible,  the  figure  of  Veronica  as  she  had  last  ap- 
peared to  him,  with  the  deep  blue  eyes  of  her  brimming 
with  love  and  purest  devo.tion.  God  help  her,  and  God 
help  him,  too,  in  the  days  to  come,  was  the  predominat- 
ing thought  as  the  sword  of  separation  pierced  ever 
deeper  into  his  heart. 

Dr.  Severin  declared  he  must  not  delay  longer,  he 
must  go  back  to  the  hospital. 

"Then  take  Zia  with  you,"  said  Mme.  Severin. 
"Amina  has  gone  home  and  will  put  her  to  bed.  I  have 
various  things  to  put  by.  Veronica  and  I  will  return 
together." 

"Yes,  I  am  tired,"  said  Zia,  languidly,  and  held  out 
her  arms  to  her  father. 

"Send  the  carriage  straight  back,  Nicholas,"  called 
Mme.  Severin  as  her  son  drove  towards  the  town. 

The  keeper  of  the  garden  came  forward  from  his  mud- 
brick  hut  close  to  the  strong  door  in  the  wall  to  detain 
her  in  talk  for  a  few  moments.  Then  she  went  back 
with  hasty  and  eager  steps  to  the  pavilion. 

TO 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          71 

"Veronica,  are  you  there?"  she  said,  anxiously,  halt- 
ing on  the  threshold  to  peer  into  the  shadowed  room. 

No  answer  gave  back  from  within  or  through  the  soft 
freshness  of  the  evening  air  without.  With  a  heavy  sigh 
she  entered,  picked  up  various  articles  lying  about  and 
thrust  them  with  an  air  of  detached  thought  into  a  mas- 
sive chest.  This  she  locked  and  put  the  key  into  a  bag 
at  her  side. 

For  a  moment  she  stood  pondering,  a  wistful  look  in 
her  far-seeing  eyes.  Then  -she  went  down  to  the  river 
bank,  looked  hurriedly  right  and  left,  and  out  over  the 
deepening  waters  and  immediately  turned  aside  into  a 
little  path  winding  through  the  trees. 

"Veronica!"  she  called  again. 

The  pigeons  were  still  murmuring  somewhere  out  of 
sight.  When  she  came  out  on  the  clearing  where 
Veronica  had  put  Zuleika  into  the  basket  she  found  the 
birds,  some  moving  on  the  ground,  others  in  the  air,  all 
uttering  their  cooing  notes  to  a  slim  white  figure  stand- 
ing among  them  still  as  a  statue  with  arms  taut  and 
fingers  tightly  locked  before  her. 

"It  is  a  big  struggle,  my  little  daughter,"  said  Mme. 
Severin,  quietly,  coming  up  behind  her,  "but  courage! 
You  will  win  through." 

A  moment's  silence  and  then  the  girl  turned  slowly 
and  looked  with  tragic  eyes  at  her  mother. 

"But  it  is  hard,"  she  said  in  a  gasping  voice,  spread- 
ing out  her  hands  in  mute  appeal  to  the  fate  upon  her. 

The  passionate  strain  of  her  attitude  suddenly  snapped 
beneath  the  tenderness  of  her  mother's  presence.  She 
dropped  in  a  heap  to  the  ground,  bowed  her  head  into  her 
arms  and  began  to  weep  bitterly. 

In  a  moment  Mme.  Severin  was  kneeling  beside  her. 


72         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

In  the  relief  of  free  outward  expression  of  her  grief 
Veronica  sobbed  out  her  heart  on  her  mother's  breast, 
and  with  it  wept  away  most  of  the  strain  and  bitterness 
of  that  parting  hour. 

Soon  she  began  to  listen  to  the  words  whispered  in  her 
ear. 

"My  heart  is  sore  for  you,  my  dear  one.  It  is  hard 
to  love  and  to  part  in  the  same  hour,  but  love  is  a  master 
that  will  not  be  denied  when  called  up  by  the  voice  of 
destiny.  For  it  is  destiny  herself  who  has  arranged  all 
this  mixed  happiness  and  pain,  in  order  to  mold  you  to 
her  will.  She  knows  that  through  the  giving  of  love 
to  faithful  hearts  she  will  be  able  to  bring  certain  things 
to  pass  in  your  life,  things  hidden  from  us  now  but  that 
the  future  will  make  plain. ' ' 

"But  why  must  destiny  be  cruel?"  muttered  the  girl. 

' '  Out  of  what  seems  cruel  to-day  you  will  one  day  see 
good  springing  like  a  flower.  For  love  and  a  brave  heart 
can  go  far  in  conquering  the  evil  of  what  seems  the  most 
adverse  destiny.  Many  experiences  go  to  the  molding 
of  a  life.  If  you  submit  to  them  you  can  often  turn 
them  to  your  advantage." 

"I  did  struggle  hard  to  persuade  myself  that  all  would 
be  well,"  said  the  girl,  sitting  up  with  a  sort  of  desperate 
gasp  and  pushing  with  one  hand  the  soft  black  hair  from 
her  forehead,  "that  no  harm  could  possibly  happen  to — 
him— that  nothing  dare  happen  to  him,  that  we  shall 
still  go  on  at  home  in  the  same  placid  old  way,  and  that 
one  day — he  will  come  back." 

"Try  to  believe  by  all  means  that  everything  happens 
for  the  best,"  said  the  mother  earnestly,  "but  life  at 
home  for  us,  my  Veronica,  is  going  to  be  a  grave  matter, 
needing  all  our  courage." 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          73 

"I  know!  I  know!  I  was  not  able  even  to  pretend 
that  my  hope  would  come  true,"  said  Veronica,  dully; 
' '  only  one  comfort  I  have — Pierre  might  have  gone  with- 
out saying  a  word,  and  then  everything  would  have  been 
unbearable." 

Anna  Severin  's  eyes  flashed. 

"I  told  him  to  wait,"  she  said,  quickly,  "that  you 
were  not  to  be  tied  by  a  promise." 

"If  he  had  not  spoken  I  should  have  drowned  myself 
in  the  river,"  said  Veronica  with  passion  in  her  voice. 
"It  makes  all  the  difference  in  being  able  to  endure 
anything  and  everything  just  to  have  heard  him  say  it 
once." 

' '  My  dear ! ' '  murmured  her  mother  in  a  gentle  but  ex- 
postulating voice. 

"From  my  heart  I  mean  it,"  Veronica's  voice  thrilled 
to  a  deep  note,  ' '  for  I  know !  I  know !  And  when  one 
knows  it  is  possible  to  endure  all  things.  You  shall  see ! ' ' 

She  had  spoken  with  decided  ardor  of  expression,  gaz- 
ing with  a  far  off  uplift  of  look  into  the  growing  dark- 
ness under  the  trees.  Now,  as  suddenly,  she  dropped  her 
face  into  her  hands,  overcome  by  the  feeling  that  in  the 
dawning  of  her  great  and  amazing  happiness  a  thick 
cloud  had  fallen  blotting  out  the  glory.  In  spite  of  her 
brave  words  emptiness  and  despair  were  ready  and  even 
eager  to  creep  into  her  heart. 

Anna  Severin  drew  up  the  shawl  which  had  slipped 
from  her  shoulders  and  rose  to  her  feet.  "Wrapping  her 
arms  more  closely  she  stood  erect  looking  down  silently 
at  the  girl. 

Veronica's  love  for  the  Frenchman — she  thanked  God 
for  his  nationality — which  had  come  so  suddenly  had 
made  a  new  being  of  her  little  girl.  This  was  a  woman 


74         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

grown  who  was  speaking.  Ah,  well,  such  a  crisis  was 
bound  to  come  from  the  very  nature  of  things.  Fate 
had  declared  her  will.  From  this  reading  of  life  nobody 
who  has  the  smallest  strain  of  Oriental  blood  in  their 
veins  is  ever  free. 

"And  •now  we  must  go  home,  Veronica,"  she  said, 
firmly.  "You  must  try  to  compose  yourself  even  as 
Pierre  made  the  effort  when  he  came  to  bid  us  good-by 
at  the  gate." 

Veronica  looked  up  with  arrested  eyes.  "Yes?"  she 
said  in  a  questioning  voice.  "Yes  ? ' ' 

"His  self  control  was  marked.  It  had  to  be.  But  I 
knew  he  was  inwardly  as  deeply  moved  as  yourself.  He 
cannot,  he  must  not  give  way.  He  belongs  to  his 
country,  though  he  will  serve  her  the  better  for  loving 
you  with  all  his  heart.  Now,  listen  to  me,  dear!  You, 
too,  have  other  aims  to  consider.  We  have  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly cautious,  and  above  all  to  keep  strict  silence 
about  the  love  between  you  and  Pierre  however  difficult 
it  may  be  to  conceal  it." 

With  parted  lips  Veronica  listened  with  the  same  look 
of  fixed  attention.  Directly  her  mother  finished  speak- 
ing she  sprang  up. 

"Tell  me  all!"  she  said  with  instant  intuition. 
"There  is  something  else,  I  know.  I  will  be  selfish  no 
longer,  petite  mere," 

Come  then !  Let  me  draw  your  lace  scarf  over  your 
hair  and  round  your  neck.  The  carriage  waits.  I  will 
explain  as  we  walk." 

With  tender  touch  Anna  Severin  smoothed  the  girl's 
disarranged  hair,  and  arranged  over  it  and  round  the 
neck  the  lace  in  the  Syrian  fashion,  concealing  as  much 
of  the  face  as  possible  as  it  was  growing  dark.  She 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          75 

kissed  Veronica  on  either  cheek  and  then  taking  her 
arm  they  went  away. 

As  they  walked  Anna  spoke  of  Herr  Rosen's  visit  that 
afternoon,  explained  his  ominous  news,  his  dark  hints  of 
future  disaster,  and  above  all  his  declaration  of  love  and 
confident  hopes. 

"Have  you  told  Nicholas?"  was  Veronica's  first 
question. 

"Yes!" 

"He  knew  all  this  and  yet  refused  to  listen  to  Pierre? 
Oh,  mother!" 

"Your  brother  is  like  his  father.  When  he  sees  the 
right  he  does  it  and  never  swerves. ' ' 

"That  is  your  way,  too,"  said  Veronica  in  a  toneless 
voice.  "What  must  I  do?  How  can  I  face  that  man 
again  knowing  his  preposterous  ideas  about  me?  You 
know  that  I  could  never  have  loved  him  even  had  I 
never  seen  Pierre." 

' '  I  felt  you  were  not  at  all  in  sympathy  with  him,  but 
on  no  account  must  we  make  him  our  enemy. ' ' 

"The  very  thought  of  him  repels  me,"  said  Veronica, 
fiercely.  ' '  How  can  he  dare  take  so  much  for  granted  ? ' ' 

' '  Simply  a  good  share  of  the  confidence  and  unbounded 
conceit  common  to  most  Germans,"  said  Anna  Severin, 
dryly.  "They  are  out  to  make  trouble  if  war  really 
starts  afresh.  I  doubt  even  if  they  will  in  any  way  make 
things  easier  for  the  Christians  of  this  land  in  spite  of 
their  boast  of  religion." 

Veronica  started  as  the  words  recalled  something  for- 
gotten to  her  mind. 

"Ali  was  with  me  before  you  came  this  evening,"  she 
said  breathlessly.  "The  Sukhs  are  filled  with  dark  re- 
ports that  the  Bedouin  are  rising.  Already  the  Jehad 


76         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

is  being  preached  among  them.  I  told  him  to  take  no 
notice  of  it  seriously.  We  have  so  often  heard  similar 
reports." 

"No  doubt  there  is  a  plot  somewhere  to  create  disturb- 
ances," said  Mme.  Severin.  "You  must  tell  Nicholas." 

"Zorah  wants  me  to  go  and  see  her  to-morrow.  It  is 
urgent,  said  Ali." 

' '  I  wonder  John  Culver  himself  has  not  been  over  to 
see  us.  These  are  times  when  we  must  all  keep  in  touch 
with  one  another. ' ' 

The  carriage  waited  outside  the  garden  door  with  its 
curtains  drawn.  The  two  women  sat  closely  together, 
Veronica's  arm  still  linked  in  her  mother's  during  the 
drive,  but  both  became  silent. 

Veronica  followed  in  thought  the  man  she  loved.  She 
reminded  herself  how  he  would  have  to  cast  off  every 
care,  every  consideration,  even  every  thought  that  might 
hamper  complete  duty  to  his  country.  That  as  a  man 
girded  for  a  race,  with  his  life  as  the  prize,  he  would 
have  to  be  ready  to  act,  to  serve,  to  sacrifice,  without 
respect  of  self  or  of  any  other  person  whatsoever. 

She  put  the  question  to  herself.  If  she,  Veronica 
Severin,  the  daughter  of  as  brave  a  patriot  as  ever 
breathed,  were  to  fall  short  in  courage,  self-sacrifice,  and 
strict  self  control,  how  could  she  in  any  way  be  worthy 
of  the  love  of  such  a  man  as  Pierre  Marson  ? 

For  answer  every  fiber  of  nerve  within  her  stiffened. 
She  possessed  all  the  caution  as  well  as  all  the  passion  of 
her  father's  race,  qualities  inseparably  intertwined  in 
Armenian  character  through  the  very  nature  of  its 
development  under  Turkish  tyranny.  It  follows  then 
that  when  her  mother  turned  to  her  as  the  carriage 
drew  up  and  said,  "Be  careful,  dear!  Prying  eyes  may 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          77 

be  about!"  Veronica  replied  in  a  steady  voice,  "Have 
no  fear!"  and  when  she  came  under  the  lamplight  and 
threw  back  her  scarf  there  was  no  trace  left  on  her  face 
of  recent  agitation  beyond  an  added  depth  to  the  color 
of  her  eyes. 

"Zia!  Still  up?  But  that  is  naughty,  very 
naughty,"  cried  Mme.  Severin,  as  stepping  through  the 
double  doors  of  the  portico  into  the  lewan  she  saw  Zia 
struggling  to  escape  from  Amina's  arms. 

"I  can  do  nothing  with  her,  0  lady,"  wailed  the 
woman.  "Since  the  khowaja  went  off  she  has  been  like 
a  little  mejnoun." 

"What  khowaja?"  asked  Anna  Severin,  sharply, 
while  Zia  escaping,  ran  to  Veronica  and  threw  herself 
into  her  arms  as  if  for  protection. 

"There,  there,  child!  Be  good  and  then  Aunt 
Vronka  will  take  you  to  bed  herself,"  said  Veronica  in 
a  soothing  voice,  though  <that  instant  her  heart  jumped 
at  Amina's  reply. 

"Khowaja  Rosen,  the  German  consul!" 

With  a  startled  flash  in  her  eyes  Anna  Severin  looked 
at  Veronica.  What  new  communication  was  this,  she 
seemed  to  ask? 

"Yes,  he  came  just  after  the  master  went  out.  I 
was  taking  Zia  to  her  room.  She  heard  the  khowaja 's 
voice  and  then  nothing  could  hold  her.  Allah!  You 
know  what  she  is ! "  concluded  Amina. 

"Go  now  and  get  on  with  your  work,"  said  her  mis- 
tress. "I  will  look  after  the  child." 

Amina  made  off  with  alacrity,  glad  to  be  easily  relieved 
from  blame,  while  Mme.  Severin  came  to  the  divan  where 
Veronica  sat  holding  Zia  in  her  arms. 

Zia  was  talking  in  a  shrill,  excited  voice. 


78         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"I  can't  understand,  dear,"  said  her  grandmother. 
"Go  back  to  the  beginning  and  tell  Meme  all  about  it." 

"I  hate  him.  He  is  a  wicked  man.  He  gave  me  a 
box  of  chocolates  and  when  I  said  things  he  did  not  like 
he  took  them  away  from  me  and  said  he  would  give 
them  to  another  little  girl  who  was  a  real  friend  and 
not  like  me." 

"That  was  very  unkind,"  said  Mme.  Severin,  decid- 
edly. "What  was  he  angry  about?" 

"He  came  to  play  the  violin  with  some  new  music  for 
Vronka.  I  told  him  Aunt  Vronka  was  in  the  garden 
and  that  Papa  and  Meme  were  there.  He  asked  me 
why  I  had  come  home  without  them." 

"Did  you  tell  him  we  had  a  visitor?" 

"Yes,  I  thought  he  might  have  forgotten  our  dear 
Monsieur  Marson,  so  I  put  him  in  mind  of  the  holiday 
in  the  mountains,  and  how  we  all  loved  him." 

She  was  too  absorbed  in  her  recital  to  notice  the  horri- 
fied glance  passing  between  her  aunt  and  grandmother. 

"Then  he  asked  me  a  lot  of  questions  and  I  got  tired 
of  answering  them." 

"What  questions,  dearie?"  put  in  Veronica,  quietly. 

"He  wanted  to  know  when  Monsieur  Marson  had 
come  to  the  garden,  and  who  brought  him,  and  if  we 
had  expected  him.  I  said  it  was  a  beautiful  surprise 
that  had  made  us  all  very  happy.  He  looked  cross  and 
I  asked  him  why,  and  said  Monsieur  Marson  was  always 
so  gay,  and  I  should  like  him  better  if  he  was  the  same. ' ' 

"That  was  rude,"  said  Mme.  Severin,  firmly. 

"No!  It  was  Herr  Rosen  who  was  rude.  He  said  he 
had  better  taste  than  to  imitate  the  manners  of  a  grin- 
ning dog  of  a  Frenchman.  I  told  him  that  his  own 
manners  were  very  impolite  to  speak  like  that  of  our 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          79 

visitor,  and  -that  it  was  not  only  me  who  loved  Monsieur 
Marson,  but  that  Meme  and  Aunt  Vronka  did." 

"And  Papa,  too?"  thrust  in  Mme.  Severin. 

"Yes,"  said  Zia  with  hesitation,  "but  I  said  I  did  not 
think  he  liked  him  as  much  as  we  did. ' ' 

"Did  Herr  Kosen  ask  what  we  were  talking  about?" 

Veronica  put  this  question,  trying  to  speak  calmly, 
though  her  heart  throbbed  with  the  pain  of  a  new  and 
burning  anxiety. 

"Indeed,  he  did!  But  I  told  him  that  when  I  asked 
what  any  one  had  been  talking  about  I  was  called  in- 
quisitive and  scolded.  Then  he  took  away  the  chocolates. 
He  was  red  as  a  bride's  veil,  quite  quite  red,  and  very 
angry.  He  came  close  up  to  me.  I  thought  he  was 
going  to  shake  me.  If  he  had  I  meant  to  pinch  him 
hard." 

"All  the  same  he  ought  to  have  waited  till  I  came  in," 
said  Mme.  Severin,  too  concerned  about  the  man's  anger 
to  denounce  its  effect  on  Zia. 

"I  told  him  to  go  away  and  I  stamped  my  foot  at  him. 
I  said  it  was  my  Papa's  house  and  he  did  not  allow  any 
one  to  be  unkind  to  me." 

"You  must  never  do  that  again,"  said  her  grand- 
mother, sternly.  "It  is  not  for  a  little  one  like  you 
to  decide  who  comes  to  the  house  or  not.  Herr  Rosen 
was  our  guest.  It  is  a  shameful  thing  to  drive  away 
a  guest." 

Zia  started  to  wail.  For  Meme  to  turn  against  her 
gave  a  tragic  twist  to  conduct  of  which  she  had  been  not 
a  little  proud. 

' '  She  is  very  tired,  mother.  If  you  will  let  me  I  will 
put  her  to  bed,"  said  Veronica,  feeling  wondrously 
tender  towards  the  unconscious  little  champion  of  Pierre. 


80          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Also  she  was  secretly  elated,  whatever  the  risk,  that 
Otto  Rosen  had  been  defied  and  certainly  made  to  eat 
humble  pie,  though  at  a  child's  hands. 

"Very  well,  and  I  will  come  in  later  and  see  that  she 
is  quite  a  good  girl,"  said  Mme.  Severin. 

Left  alone  she  became  very  grave,  anticipating  a  vin- 
dictive if  petty  revenge  on  Otto  Rosen's  part  for  the 
behavior  of  a  child.  How  could  it  be  averted?  Was 
there  a  means  by  which  she  could  disarm  his  jealousy 
and  resentment? 

An  idea  soon  came  to  her.  With  clearing  brow  she 
hurried  to  her  writing  table.  Shortly  she  had  written 
and  fastened  up  a  letter,  and  then  called  Amina  to  her. 

"Give  this  to  Murad  and  tell  him  to  go  with  all  haste 
to  the  house  of  the  German  effendi,"  she  said.  "Come 
and  tell  me  when  he  returns  for  then  I  shall  know  how 
quickly  he  has  delivered  my  message.  And  Amina!" 
she  called  out  as  the  woman  hurried  from  the  room. 
' '  Come  back  after  you  have  sent  Murad  off.  I  want  you 
to  light  the  lamps  in  the  salon." 

Anna  Severin,  always  alert  in  the  face  of  a  complicated 
emergency,  again  put  on  her  considering  cap.  Then 
muttering,  "Now  to  persuade  and  convince  Veronica," 
she  quitted  the  lewan. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

AS  a  rule  the  German  Consulate  showed  no  signs  of 
life  at  this  hour.  But  to-night  the  whole  town  was 
alive.  Every  cafe  was  full,  inside  and  out,  of  talking 
and  gesticulating  groups.  In  the  narrow  streets  men 
passed  and  repassed  incessantly,  a  continuous  hum  of 
voices  and  hoarse  shoutings  echoed  and  re-etehoed  between 
the  blank-faced  walls  of  the  houses. 

"Clear  the  court!"  shouted  the  Consul  as  he  came  in. 
"Let  no  one  enter  again  without  bringing  me  word." 

Men  standing  in  groups  under  the  arcade  of  the  court, 
and  squatting  near  the  divan  in  the  gateway  began  a  hur- 
ried exodus  while  the  doorkeeper  reiterated  the  order  in 
a  shrill,  penetrating  voice. 

The  Consul  turned  sharply  to  the  majestic  Kawass  who 
was  following  him  in. 

"Give  it  to  me!"  he  said,  savagely.  "Have  a  care, 
you  idiot,  or  you  will  drop  the  case.  Hold  yourself  in 
readiness.  I  may  go  out  again  to  the  Serai  at  any 
minute." 

The  Kawass,  with  an  air  of  relinquishing  some  prized 
treasure  of  the  universe,  gave  up  the  violin  case,  then 
made  a  magnificent  gesture*  signifying  absolute  readiness 
to  fly  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  at  His  Excellency's  com- 
mand. But  his  swarthy  face  scowled  blackly  as  Herr 
Rosen  marched  across  the  paving  and  up  the  steps  to  the 
great  door  overhung  by  the  Insignia  of  Germany. 

"Why  must  a  man  of  my  race  wait  upon  the  will  of 

81 


82         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

such  as  these?"  he  said  in  an  irritable  aside  to  the 
keeper  of  the  gate. 

"Allah  is  great !  The  world  changes.  It  will  be  your 
turn  one  day." 

"Please  God!"  returned  the  Kawass,  hopefully. 
"May  it  soon  be  His  will,  for  these  Christians  are  all 
alike." 

He  produced  cigarettes  for  two  from  the  voluminous 
folds  of  his  trousers,  and  sitting  down  by  the  gate  began 
to  discuss  vigorously  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  burning 
topic  of  the  hour. 

The  Consulate  was  to  be  open  all  night  in  case  of  the 
arrival  of  important  messages  by  wire  or  hand.  At  the 
sound  of  Rosen's  step  and  voice  two  or  three  clerks  left 
in  charge,  who  had  their  heads  together  in  busy  confab, 
flew  to  their  desks  with  an  air  of  industry.  To  their 
surprise  and  relief  he  took  no  notice  of  them  but  passed 
on  to  his  own  sanctum  and  closed  the  door  with  a  bang. 

He  seemed  pent  up  with  suppressed  emotions,  and, 
after  placing  his  violin  case  aside,  paced  with  fiery  energy 
up  and  down  the  room,  setting  his  teeth  in  anger. 

The  suspicions  stirred  up  by  the  sight  of  Dr.  Severin 
and  Marson  together  at  the  station  had  come  back  in  a 
virulent  form.  Instinct  and  revenge  demanded  prompt 
denouncement  of  Severin  in  a  quarter  that  would  mean 
prompt  arrest,  but  his  punishment  would  not  touch  the 
chief  offender  and  foe,  and  might  irretrievably  estrange 
Veronica. 

Yet  with  Veronica  herself  Otto  Rosen  was  bitterly 
incensed.  Zia  had  betrayed  even  more  than  she  had  con- 
fessed or  imagined.  Why  this  complaisance  to  a  man 
who  was  the  national  enemy  of  Germany?  Obligations 
of  personal  friendship  to  him,  Otto  Rosen,  numbered 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          83 

years,  whereas  the  acquaintance  of  the  Frenchman 
counted  in  weeks  only. 

What  did  it  mean,  he  asked,  suddenly  kicking  a  stool 
that  lay  in  his  way  with  a  force  so  savage  that  it  flew 
across  the  room  and  knocked  over  a  low  table  on  which 
was  a  tray  with  glasses  and  a  syphon. 

With  a  jerk  he  pulled  up  short,  glared  with  starting 
eyeballs  at  the  havoc  on  the  floor,  while  from  his  lips 
tumbled  a  fluent  stream  of  Teutonic  swear  words. 
Startled  clerks,  hearing  the  crash,  burst  in  at  the  door, 
fearing  an  untoward  catastrophe. 

"What  do  you  want  here?"  he  called  angrily. 
"Can't  I  have  an  accident  without  the  whole  Consulate 
neglecting  its  duty  ?  Here,  I  want  this  mess  cleared  up. 
Sharp !  Send  some  one  to  see  to  it. " 

Suddenly  he  composed  himself,  and  sitting  down 
stared  straight  in  front  of  him  without  moving  a  muscle. 
A  native  servant  came  silently  in,  sopped  up  the  water 
and  brushed  the  debris  into  a  pan.  He  went  out  and 
brought  in  more  glasses  and  a  fresh  syphon. 

"Put  that  table  in  a  safer  place  up  against  the  wall," 
ordered  Rosen.  "The  next  time  I  find  it  in  the  middle 
of  the  room  you  can  look  for  another  master." 

Volubly  the  man  began  with  many  salaams  to  defend 
and  excuse  himself. 

"Enough!  It  is  finished.  Go!"  roared  Eosen,  ex- 
asperated. 

The  edge  of  his  inward  anger  had  worn  blunt,  but  he 
still  sat  brooding  over  the  indignity  put  upon  him  by 
an  impudent  child,  and  the  slight  to  his  loyal  friendship 
for  the  Severin  household  by  their  hospitality  to  a 
Frenchman. 

For  what  else  than  a  slight  could  he  call  this  welcome 


84         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

and  pronounced  partiality  for  an  enemy  of  his  country? 
He  could  call  it  more  than  a  slight.  It  was  a  betrayal, 
for  who  could  tell  what  treacherous  machinations  were 
not  hidden  beneath  the  seeming  harmlessness  of  that 
unlucky  visit? 

How  then  to  get  a  quid  pro  quo  for  indignity  and 
slight,  and  a  more  than  probable  treachery?  For  the 
indignity,  best  of  all  he  would  like  to  place  the  sharp- 
tongued  little  Zia  across  his  knees  and  whip  her  well. 

"Do  her  good!"  he  exclaimed.  "If  ever  I  get  a 
chance  of  correcting  that  child,  bringing  her  under 
discipline  to  stamp  out  her  willfulness,  I  shall  take 

it" 

And  this  resolve  brought  him  close  up  to  the  other  vital 
matter,  his  passion  for  Veronica,  and  any  possible  influ- 
ence that  the  contemptible  but  dangerous  visitor  could 
have  exercised  upon  her. 

None,  he  told  himself  emphatically.  The  time  had 
been  too  short.  And  then  he  remembered  his  own  invi- 
tation to  supper  in  the  garden,  proving  that  Monsieur 
Marson's  visit  had  been  quite  unforeseen.  What  mad- 
ness on  Severin's  part  to  invite  such  a  man  to  the  inti- 
macy of  that  evening  meal.  He  could  picture  it  all, 
having  shared  it  so  often  himself. 

With  this  revival  of  memory  he  again  grew  angry  with 
Veronica,  who  had  treated  him  with  cold  indifference  at 
his  last  appearance  in  their  family  circle.  He  began  to 
think  how  he  could  annoy  or  even  humiliate  her.  For 
apparently  she  had  the  excruciating  taste  to  have  a 
liking  for  this  Frenchman.  Zia  had  declared  loudly, 
"We  all  like  him,"  and  had  added,  "especially  Meme 
and  Aunt  Vronka." 

All  kinds  of  rancor  passed  quickly  through  his  mind. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          85 

Ceaselessly  lie  began  to  rack  Ms  brain  .for  a  scapegoat 
on  whom  to  vent  his  rage.  Finally  he  got  up  with  a 
concentrated  air  of  wrath  and  determination,  and  walked 
out  of  the  room.  He  had  decided  to  denounce  the 
Frenchman,  who  was  the  arch  culprit. 

He  summoned  his  Kawass  and  started  out  for  the 
Serai.  In  another  ten  minutes  he  entered  the  presence 
of  the  Wali  of  Opella  with  all  the  assurance  of  one  whose 
visit  is  not  only  welcome  but  an  act  of  condescension.  A 
curious  bearing  for  a  representative  of  the  German 
Kaiser  at  a  moment  when  the  whole  of  Europe  and  even 
of  the  world  was  still  hanging  upon  the  decision  of 
Turkey  to  enter  the  arena  of  war. 

But  he,  Otto  Rosen,  Germany's  chief  consular  official 
for  a  wide  district,  was  already  in  the  secret.  Even 
now  he  knew  that  Turkey's  horrible  gamble  had  begun, 
that  Enver  Pasha,  Talaat  Bey,  and  their  accomplices  of 
that  deadly  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress,  so  soon  to 
be  denounced  as  a  ' '  gang  of  unscrupulous  ruffians, ' '  had 
thrown  the  dice  on  the  side  of  the  Central  Powers. 
Hence  this  new  access  of  German  arrogance,  and  cer- 
tainty of  his  own  position. 

Unluckily  his  hands  were  tied  in  many  ways  until  the 
decision  was  openly  made  known.  But  even  Rosen  could 
not  divine  that,  in  the  same  hour  in  which  he  sought  out 
the  Wali,  cable  messages  were  flying,  far  and  wide, 
revealing  the  treacherous  blow  struck  by  Turko-Germanic 
warships  against  Russia  in  the  Black  Sea. 

Little  time  was  ever  wasted  by  Otto  Rosen  in  disclos- 
ing the  point  of  an  official  call.  In  fact  he  was  apt  to 
slur  over  essential  niceties  of  etiquette,  a  practice  which 
secretly  affronted  the  Oriental  mind,  and  often  created 
an  atmosphere  of  subtle  hostility.  At  best  he  was  a  poor 


86          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

diplomat  and  all  the  experience  in  the  world  would  never 
alter  him. 

His  present  mood  led  him  to  abridge  in  a  highly  im- 
proper manner  the  customary  shibboleth  of  ceremony. 
With  indecent  haste  he  tumbled  out  the  subject  of  his 

visit. 

Kahoum  Pasha  listened,  smoking  leisurely,  gravely,  his 
gray-green  eyes  shot  with  fleeting  gleams  of  malice.  His 
silence  betrayed  no  surprise,  nor  did  he  appear  inter- 
ested. A  spectator  might  have  guessed  him  to  be  bored 
at  the  mere  idea  that  any  one  particular  Frenchman, 
more  than  another,  slipping  out  of  the  country  could 
possibly  be  a  detail  of  the  least  importance  at  this  special 
juncture. 

"Prevention  is  better  than  cure,"  snapped  Rosen. 
"He  is  a  dangerous  man.  Who  knows  what  plans  of 
the  country,  and  promises  from  traitors  he  is  not  carry- 
ing back  with  him?  Hold  him  now  and  no  valuable 
information  can  be  conveyed  to  the  enemy  through  him. 
I  have  the  strongest  grounds  for  distrusting  him." 

He  paused,  scenting  of  a  sudden  that  his  charge  and 
demand  were  not  receiving  the  attention  he  had  expected. 
A  wave  of  resentment  surging  within  showed  outwardly 
in  the  suspicious  glare  of  his  eye  turned  upon  the  unper- 
turbed Wali. 

"It  is  well,  Excellency!  I  compliment  you  upon 
your  quick  sight,"  said  Kahoum  Pasha,  suavely.  "Be 
assured  that  my  own  eyes  are  not  shut.  Though  I  have 
to  sit  here  waiting  the  orders  of  the  All-Highest  from 
Stamboul  my  hands  are  able  to  stretch  far  on  his  behalf. ' ' 

"Stop  the  rascal  then!  Have  him  arrested  before  he 
leaves  the  shore.  Do  not  hesitate.  Time  is  short. 
There  must  be  no  mistake,"  said  Rosen,  sharply. 


87, 

From  Kahoum  Pasha's  eyes  darted  an  ironical  glance 
that  scanned  the  speaker  keenly. 

"What  would  you  say  if  I  told  you  that  I  already 
know  every  detail  about  the  Frenchman,  even  to  the 
fact  that  he  halted  on  his  way  to  sup  with  a  family  you 
reckon  among  your  intimate  friends?"  The  Wall 
paused  to  take  a  long  whiff  through  his  pipe. 

Eosen  stared  with  an  air  of  amazed  inquiry. 

"It  is  true,  Excellency!"  the  Wali  went  on,  quietly. 
"And  yet  I  shall  allow  this  dangerous  foreigner  to  sail 
to-morrow  night  for  his  own  country." 

Rosen,  though  cunning,  was  a  mere  tyro  at  the  game 
of  intrigue  compared  with  the  player  before  him.  He 
was  at  no  pains  to  hide  his  perplexity  and  anger.  But 
before  he  could  open  his  lips  to  speak  again  Kahoum 
Pasha  called  out  in  a  loud  voice.  The  curtain  over  the 
door  moved  and  a  young  official  known  to  Rosen  as  the 
Wali's  confidential  secretary  came  in. 

"Repeat  to  his  Excellency,  Rosen  Effendi,  the  report 
brought  in  about  the  Frenchman,  the  protected  of  Ras- 
chid  Pasha  whose  life  may  God  preserve!"  said 
Kahoum  Pasha. 

"The  protected  of  Raschid  Pasha!"  echoed  Rosen 
with  an  accent  of  scornful  incredulity;  but  already  the 
secretary,  having  made  his  courteous  salaams,  began  to 
speak.  Rosen  listened  with  mixed  feelings  of  which  im- 
patience was  emphatically  the  strongest. 

"You  believe  that  plausible  tale,  Highness?"  he 
said,  addressing  the  Wali. 

"You  have  said  it,  Effendina,"  was  the  reply. 

"He  will  never  come  back  at  all.  You  will  lose  him 
altogether.  You  must  see  it  is  only  a  blind." 

"Not  so!    When  the  hour  comes  he  will  be  here. 


88          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

What  he  will  then  bring  into  the  country  will  be  more 
valuable  than  anything  he  now  carries  away.  One 
whose  word  carries  higher  weight  than  my  own  has  so 
declaral.  The  Frenchman  leaves  the  country  un- 
checked. ' ' 

"That  is  your  last  word?"  asked  Rosen,  acidly. 
"The  German  military  staff  at  Damascus  and  above  all 
in  Stamboul  will  look  with  different  eyes  on  his  escape. 
For  an  escape,  unchecked,  it  will  be,  and  nothing  else. ' ' 

"That  is  my  last  word,  Excellency,"  said  the  Wali, 
dryly. 

Rosen  swallowed  the  coffee  he  still  held  in  his  hand, 
dropped  into  the  cup  a  half  finished  cigarette,  and  rose  to 
his  feet.  With  unusual  punctilio  he  took  leave  and  went 
back  to  the  Consulate  in  a  ferment  of  discontent  and 
baffled  designs. 

As  he  mounted  the  steps  from  the  courtyard  a  figure 
shot  up  from  a  mat  near  the  door,  salaamed  humbly, 
and  presented  a  letter. 

Herr  Rosen  took  it,  looked  at  the  handwriting,  then 
at  the  man  and  walked  on. 

"Khowaja!  Am  I  to  wait?"  said  the  man,  follow- 
ing him. 

"What  for?" 

The  man  spread  out  deprecating  palms  as  he  answered. 
"The  reply,  khowaja!" 

"There  is  none!  Go!"  said  Rosen,  loudly,  and 
passed  into  the  building. 

He  flung  the  letter  on  a  console  table  by  the  door  and 
sat  down  at  his  writing  table.  Fresh  papers  at  once 
claimed  his  close  attention.  He  bent  over  them,  frown- 
ing, examining  one  after  the  other,  then  pushed  a  bell  at 
his  side. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          89 

An  hour  after  midnight  he  got  up  with  a  big  yawn. 
His  subordinates  could  now  carry  through  the  remainder 
of  the  work.  It  was  by  no  means  necessary  for  him  to 
share  their  vigil,  though  he  had  given  orders  he  was  to  be 
called  at  once  if  any  important  message  arrived. 

When  he  rose  to  his  feet  to  go  to  bed  he  caught  sight 
of  the  letter  and  remembered  he  had  not  read  it.  He 
took  it  to  his  bedroom.  Again  he  flung  it  down  vindic- 
tively with  a  revival  of  the  anger  driven  forcibly  to 
cover  by  the  urgent  business  of  the  last  few  hours. 

But  the  virulence  of  his  previous  mood  had  subsided. 
As  he  undressed  his  glance  wandered  speculatively  to 
the  closed  envelope.  At  last  he  took  it  up,  hesitated, 
and  finally  tore  it  open  with  an  air  of  decision. 

"We  have  just  come  in  from  the  garden,"  he  read, 
' '  and  find  to  our  real  chagrin  we  have  missed  your  visit. 
Why  did  you  leave  before  we  came  ?  You  can  only  have 
left  the  house  a  few  minutes  before  our-  arrival  and 
nothing  would  have  pleased  and  refreshed  us  (especially 
my  music-loving  Veronica)  more  than  an  evening  with 
your  violin.  If  you  can  possibly  arrange  to  return  I 
beg  of  you  to  come.  We  shall  expect  you  and  be  ready 
in  the  salon.  We  were  delayed  later  than  usual  in  the 
garden  through  an  unexpected  visitor  whom  Nicholas 
curiously  enough  ran  across  at  the  station.  It  was  none 
other  than  the  Frenchman  who  was  a  fellow  guest  for  a 
few  days  in  the  hills  this  summer.  No  doubt  you  remem- 
ber him.  His  time  was  extremely  limited  as  he  was  on 
his  way  to  the  port.  We  supped  as  soon  as  the  two  men 
appeared,  and  at  the  end  of  the  meal  he  had  to  say  good- 
by  and  resume  his  journey.  Perhaps  under  the  circum- 
stances you  are  not  sorry  that  business  kept  you  from 
accepting  my  invitation  to  the  garden.  In  any  case 


90          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

both  Veronica  and  I  trust  you  will  make  a  special  effort 
to  return  with  your  violin  and  give  us  the  pleasure  we 
always  appreciate." 

Otto  Rosen  read  the  letter  with  varying  expressions  of 
countenance.  Suspicion  still  rankled  at  the  back  of  his 
mind,  and  out  of  its  depths  some  of  the  earlier  bitterness 
swam  to  view.  Yet  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  concilia- 
tory strain  of  the  letter. 

What  did  it  mean?  Almost  as  if  the  writer  had 
already  conveyed  to  Veronica  the  substance  of  his  con- 
fidence of  the  afternoon. 

Was  it  possible  that  Veronica  had  bent  a  willing  ear 
to  listen  t  And  were  these  open  expressions  of  regret, 
and  the  wish  to  retrieve  a  missed  pleasure  the  first  timid 
display  of  changing  heart  ? 

Question  and  surmise  drew  his  eyes  to  a  second  slower 
reading  of  the  letter.  He  pondered  over  every  sentence, 
weighing  the  possible  motives  of  every  remark  in  turn. 
And  while  pondering  he  considered  a  reply,  one  that 
would  be  dignified  and  magnanimous,  and  yet  convey 
a  delicate  suggestion  of  reproach  and  surprise  that  his 
friends  had  shown  ready  hospitality  to  an  enemy  of  Ger- 
many. For  a  man  of  French  blood  must  of  necessity  be 
in  the  opposing  camp. 

His  brain  was  too  tired  to  write  out  this  reply  now. 
Besides  it  was  useless  to  send  a  letter  in  the  middle  of 
the  night.  He  would  answer  in  the  morning.  His  last 
mental  effort  as  he  threw  himself  on  the  bed  spluttered 
out  in  black  hatred  for  this  particular  Frenchman  above 
all  others,  and  in  contempt  for  the  Wall's  reprehensible 
slackness  in  letting  him  go. 


CHAPTER  IX 

WITH  a  sense  of  ineffable  depression  Veronica  fell  in 
with  her  mother's  scheme  for  propitiating  Herr 
Rosen  after  his  fatal  skirmish  with  Zia.  Murad's  delay 
was  not  regarded  as  ominous  until  he  gave  a  highly 
colored  account  of  his  reception  and  dismissal  by  the 
Consul. 

The  two  women  looked  silently  at  each  other,  dismay 
in  their  eyes. 

"He  won't  come  to-night,"  said  Veronica,  speaking 
first,  with  a  wan  smile.  "What  a  relief!  I  doubt  if 
I  could  have  hidden  my  real  feelings  from  him. ' ' 

"Don't  say  that,  when  it  is  a  matter  of  sheer  neces- 
sity," said  Anna  Severin,  excitedly.  "You  are  short- 
sighted not  to  look  beyond  personal  feeling.  You  have 
not  grasped  the  situation.  Germany  at  war  with  France, 
her  ancient  enemy!  "We,  Otto  Rosen's  friends,  have  en- 
tertained a  Frenchman.  The  fact  was  disclosed  to  him 
in  the  least  desirable  way. ' ' 

"But  so  far  we  are  neutrals  and  should  therefore  be 
impartial,"  retorted  Veronica,  warmly. 

"He  knows  that  Turkey  is  about  to  enter  the  war  on 
Germany 's  side. ' ' 

"He  may  know  and  say  what  he  likes,  but  he  shall 
not  frighten  me  into  submission  to  his  whims  and  tyran; 
nies.  My  one  and  sole  fear  is  that  the  breach  may  come 
before  Pierre  is  able  to  get  away. ' ' 

While  waiting  for  the  expected  entrance  of 

91 


92          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Veronica,  turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  music  on  the 
open  piano,  had  become  almost  calm  and  resigned. 
Now,  with  her  mother's  reproach,  sensations  of  extreme 
uneasiness  and  cold  dread  sprang  to  life  in  her  mind. 

"For  that  very  reason  I  am  trying  to  keep  in  with 
the  man,"  said  Mme.  Severin,  emphatically.  "He  will 
make  a  dangerous  enemy,  bitter  to  vindictiveness !  His 
influence  with  Turkish  authorities  will  now  carry  far." 

"But  they  all  dislike  him,"  said  Veronica. 

"That  does  not  matter  in  the  least.  It  is  the  power 
behind  him  that  makes  him  of  consequence,  and  quite 
independent  of  their  individual  favor.  But  here  comes 
Nicholas !  He  will  tell  us  what  to  do." 

"Hullo,  what  is  the  meaning  of  these  gala  lamps  and 
general  fine  array?"  exclaimed  Dr.  Severin,  glancing 
around  surprised  as  he  entered  through  a  window  of  the 
veranda.  "I  expected  to  find  both  of  you  gone  to  bed, 
exhausted  after  the  excitement  of  the  day. ' ' 

"It  is  just  this,  Nicholas!  Zia  has  been  indiscreet," 
and  Mme.  Severin  explained  the  situation. 

The  blood  mounted  to  his  face  and  he  drew  a  long 
breath.  "If  he  stops  Marson  through  spite  or  jealousy, 
and  he  is  quite  capable  of  this,  it  will  look  as  if  we  had 
betrayed  our  friend,"  was  his  first  rejoinder. 

"Exactly!"  said  Mme.  Severin,  decisively. 

"But  he  will  not  dare,"  said  Veronica,  hotly.  "He 
has  no  authority  to  act  till  Turkey  is  the  actual  ally  of 
Germany. ' ' 

"I  have  this  moment  come  direct  from  the  Club," 
said  Nicholas,  looking  at  her  with  troubled  eyes.  "The 
die  is  cast.  Private  messages  have  come  through,  that 
Russian  ports  in  the  Black  Sea  have  been  bombarded  by 
the  Turkish  fleet.  Hostilities  have  been  willfully  pro- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          93 

voked.  The  two  German  warships  were,  of  course,  in 
with  them." 

"And  hostilities  against  Russia  commits  Turkey  to  a 
war  with  France  and  Great  Britain, ' '  said  Mme.  Severin 
in  a  tone  of  finality.  ' '  The  unspeakable  has  happened. ' ' 

"Moreover,"  he  went  on,  "troops  are  concentrating. 
Mobilization  has  started,  of  Christians  as  well  as  Mussul- 
mans. ' ' 

' '  Our  people !  How  will  it  affect  them  ? ' '  said  Anna, 
in  a  breathless  voice.  The  disclosure  of  this  latest  news 
dwarfed  in  significance  all  else  that  was  in  her  mind. 

Nicholas  took  out  a  cigarette  and  lit  it.  His  face  was 
void  of  expression. 

"God  knows!"  he  burst  out  suddenly.  "According 
to  all  reports  and  telegrams  the  Central  Powers  have 
already  beaten  the  Entente." 

Veronica,  always  sensitive  to  mental  atmosphere,  and 
stupified  by  this  last  climax  to  her  fears,  was  unable  to 
utter  a  word.  Only  her  big  eyes  black  with  emotion  fixed 
unwaveringly  upon  her  brother's  face. 

"Were  there  any  newspapers  in  the  Club  to-day?" 
asked  Mme.  Severin. 

"A  few,  all  German,  full  of  their  own  victories.  Also 
bulletins  from  Constantinople,  confirming  the  rumors 
that  England  and  her  Allies  have  been  thoroughly  beaten 
to  their  knees,  by  land  and  sea. ' ' 

"I  don't  believe  it!  Do  you?"  exclaimed  Mme. 
Severin. 

"The  news  is  given  in  such  detail  that  there  must  be 
some  truth  in  the  reports  of  the  actual  state  of  affairs." 

"What  is  the  feeling  in  the  town?" 

"The  same  impression  that  the  Germans  are  in  truth 
top  dog.  A  merchant  just  arrived  from  Constantinople 


94          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

declares  that  there  they  are  supreme,  though  stern 
methods  alone  enable  them  to  hold  their  supremacy. 
Court  martial  is  no  idle  threat.  It  seems  that  the  Turks 
are  crazy  about  reconquering  Egypt.  They  declare  they 
will  drive  the  British  out  of  the  Persian  Gulf  and  de- 
stroy their  commerce  with  Bagdad  and  Ispahan.  They 
speak  of  invading  even  India,  where  the  natives  will  wel- 
come them  with  open  arms.  A  party  of  German  offi- 
cers are  expected  here  any  day  to  organize  military 
affairs." 

"I  hope  to  heaven  we  are  not  going  to  have  a  repeti- 
tion of  that  terrible  time  when  troops  for  the  Balkan  war 
were  being  concentrated, ' '  exclaimed  Mme.  Severin,  rais- 
ing her  hand  with  a  tragic  gesture.  "How  many  of 
those  unfortunate  men  deserted  ? ' ' 

"About  eight  or  nine  thousand  at  least,"  said  Nicho- 
las, darkly,  as  his  mind  at  once  conjured  up  the  lawless 
state  of  the  environs  of  Opella  in  consequence,  the  multi- 
plication of  highway  robberies  and  villainous  plundering 
in  the  whole  district,  which  followed  the  wholesale  deser- 
tion of  badly  treated  Turkish  soldiers  of  many  races. 
"Discipline  under  German  officers  will  be  more  effectual 
these  days." 

"Also  more  brutal,"  said  Mime.  Severin,  emphatically, 
"to  Turkey's  infinite  satisfaction.  For  Turkey  irritated 
and  at  war  is  nothing  but  a  fanatical  barbarian.  The 
gang  who  misrule  her  and  have  deliberately  led  her  into 
war  with  her  ancient  friends  will  march  on  from  one 
shocking  blunder  to  another,  and  from  crime  to  crime." 

Nicholas  checked  her  abruptly  with  a  warning  uplift 
of  one  finger  and  went  to  the  window,  opening  it  wide  to 
peer  right  and  left  under  the  arcades  of  the  veranda. 
The  night  was  very  still  and  dark.  The  trees  in  the 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT,          95 

garden  were  silhouetted  black  against  the  star-sown  sky. 
Not  a  movement  within  the  inclosure  indicated  that  a 
living  soul  was  near.  Only  from  the  town  beyond  the 
higJi  walls  there  sounded  detached  raucous  cries  and 
calls,  a  monotonous  beating  of  drums,  the  barking  of 
dogs  and  other  signs  of  life  peculiar  to  the  Orient. 

He  came  back,  fastened  the  window  carefully  and  let 
down  the  heavy  damask  curtains.  To  the  room  door  he 
next  stepped  lightly,  opened  it  suddenly  and  looked  into 
the  lewan  where  a  hanging  lamp  still  burned. 

"It  is  all  right,  Nicholas,"  called  out  Veronica.  "No 
one  is  about.  The  servants  are  in  their  own  quarters. 
The  house  doors  are  bolted." 

He  shut  the  door  and  sat  down  on  the  divan  by  his 
mother,  who  once  more  seemed  overcome  by  a  wave  of 
black  forebodings. 

"Dear  soul!  Brave  heart!"  he  ejaculated  in  a 
moved  voice,  covering  her  clasped  fingers  with  his  hand. 
"What  you  say  is  absolutely  true  and  my  personal 
opinions  are  one  with  yours.  But  silence  must  be  more 
than  ever  our  watchword  in  this  critical  hour  for  Ar- 
menia. ' ' 

"Armenia?  Is  it  as  bad  as  that?"  exclaimed  Ver- 
onica, forgetting  for  the  moment  all  that  had  been  said 
in  the  garden  but  what  immediately  concerned  her  love. 

"Certainly!  Eobbed  of  her  protectors,  the  only 
shields  between  her  and  a  pitiless  animosity,  she  will  be 
in  a  helpless  and  highly  perilous  position.  It  is  useless 
to  conceal  it  from  you." 

"There  will  still  be  America  to  protect  us;  America 
who  has  done  so  much,"  said  the  girl  in  a  protesting 
voice. 

"Do  you  know  that  to-night  in  the  Club  allusion  was 


96         LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

made  purposely  in  my  hearing  to  the  share  that  Arme- 
nians took  in  the  Franco-Prussian  war  of  1870?  It  was 
even  recalled  that  the  volunteers  who  fought  in  the 
French  ranks  were  Armenians  from  Zeitoun. ' ' 

' '  The  men  of  Zeitoun  have  always  been  fighters, ' '  said 
Mmc.  Severin,  who  was  as  familiar  with  the  adventurous 
annals  of  her  husband's  people  as  with  those  of  her 
parents' race.  "My  God!  Will  there  never  be  an  end 
to  this  uncertainty  of  life  ?  Must  we  to  the  end  of  our 
days  cringe  and  conceal  and  be  on  our  guard  ?  My  son, 
we  should  have  followed  Monsieur  Marson's  advice  and 
shaken  off  the  dust  of  this  accursed  land,  to  seek  and 
find  freedom  before  we  die. ' ' 

A  blighting  breath  of  the  past  swept  over  her  face, 
making  it  suddenly  old,  and  impressing  her  with  in- 
creased fragility.  Nicholas,  looking  at  her,  was  chilled 
with  presentiment.  To  lose  his  mother  would  as  vitally 
affect  his  moral  being  as  would  the  loss  of  a  limb  his 
body.  Never  had  his  mother  spoken  so  strongly.  It 
proved  how  deeply  she  was  shaken,  almost  to  breaking 
point. 

Suddenly  he  turned  away  his  face,  putting  his  hand 
across  his  eyes.  The  wind  of  freedom!  The  mere 
thought  of  it  thrilled  him  with  ecstasy.  God  knew  how 
his  whole  being  panted  to  be  breathing  the  clean-swept 
spaces  of  its  kingdom.  Had  he  up  to  now  been  chasing  a 
chimera?  Was  it  even  right  for  him  to  hold  fast  to  the 
patriotic  creed  of  his  father? 

"My  son,  forgive  your  old  mother,"  said  Anna 
Severin,  speaking  again  with  self  mastery  as  she  turned 
with  a  quick  gesture  to  throw  her  arm  round  his  neck. 
"Until  to-day  I  had  been  living  in  a  fool's  paradise.  I 
dreamt  that  the  days  of  spies  were  gone  forever,  that 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT          97 

the  gains  of  eavesdroppers  were  so  meager  and  rare  that 
they  had  renounced  the  game.  The  awakening  to  reality 
has  thrown  me  off  my  balance.  Wait  until  I  get  again 
into  touch  with  those  old  days  of  unrest,  and  dread,  and 
a  never  sleeping  caution.  With  the  need  of  the  hour  my 
strength  will  grow.  For  my  children  and  through  my 
children  I  can  still  face  all  that  is  to  come. ' ' 

Veronica  was  weeping  silently,  crouched  on  the  ground 
at  her  mother's  knee.  Personal  fear  and  sorrow  were  in 
retreat.  The  past  heroisms  and  fortitude  of  her  mother 
had  leaped  to  the  front  of  her  mind.  Whatever  hap- 
pened they  must  all  cling  together  and  God  in  his  justice 
and  mercy  would  not  omit  to  help  them.  It  was  curious 
how  in  all  their  minds  an  uncanny  foreboding  of  the 
future  hung  over  them  like  a  cloud. 

Nicholas  lifted  his  head  and  slipped  his  arm  round  his 
mother. 

"Again  I  have  spoken  hastily,"  he  said.  "We  are 
too  prone  to  concentrate  on  probable  disaster  in  a  crisis  of 
danger.  In  reality  there  are  others  in  more  immediate 
danger  than  our  own  people.  For  Armenians  are  being 
mobilized  to  fight  with  Turkey,  who  knows  how  well  they 
acquitted  themselves  in  the  Balkan  war." 

' '  Who  then  are  in  most  danger  ? ' '  asked  Anna  Severin, 
adding,  bitterly,  "in  any  case  don't  count  upon  Turkish 
benevolence  for  our  people,  if  that  is  what  you  mean." 

"Englishmen,  Frenchmen  and,  of  course,  Russians. 
The  men  will  all  be  imprisoned,  that  is  to  say  all  those 
who  failed  to  take  warning  and  get  away  in  time." 

Veronica 's  tears  were  checked  by  these  startling  words. 
Her  eyes  fastened  upon  his  face  with  questioning  anxiety. 

"Will  they  stop  Monsieur  Marson  from  embarking?" 
she  asked  breathlessly. 


98          LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Unless  Rosen  acts  promptly  he  will  get  through 
safely  enough.  Even  then  Turkish  dilatoriness  will  no 
doubt  delay  any  order  from  being  carried  out  in  time. 
He  has  every  chance  of  getting  away,"  said  Nicholas  in 
a  troubled  voice,  "but  you  must  certainly  make  up  your 
mind  to  be  more  amiable  to  Otto  Rosen,  my  girl !  More 
may  depend  upon  your  attitude  than  you  can  possibly 
imagine." 

"Wait  until  to-morrow,"  interjected  Mme.  Severin. 
pressing  Veronica  against  her  knee.  "He  will  read  the 
letter  I  wrote  to  him  and  be  here  in  the  evening  as  usual. 
Of  that  I  am  certain.  Veronica,  by  the  by,  is  going  to 
visit  Zorah.  She  can  warn  John  at  the  same  time.  He 
must  be  on  his  guard." 

"It  will  be  her  last  visit  there  for  a  long  time.  The 
roads  will  not  be  safe  for  her.  She  must  take  Murad 
with  her  and  come  home  without  fail  before  sunset." 

Though  Veronica  went  late  to  bed  she  was  up  early 
in  the  morning.  She  had  dropped  into  a  dreamless  sleep 
almost  the  instant  her  head  had  touched  the  pillow. 
Many  emotions  and  surprises  rending  her  fiercely 
throughout  the  day  had  resulted  in  a  great  physical 
weariness  which  brought  her  the  mercy  of  oblivion. 

The  way  to  El-Fereidus  lay  north  of  the  town.  The 
bright  morning  sun,  the  breeze  still  soft  and  aromatic 
with  the  odors  of  the  night,  the  glittering  foliage  of  the 
orchards  filling  the  valley,  the  mists  light  as  sea  foam 
on  the  hills  of  the  north,  all  these  things  quickened  and 
braced  her  spirit. 

In  front  of  her  Murad  rode  on  a  sturdy  gray  mule 
hung  with  a  well-filled  saddle-bag.  He  sang  incessantly 
in  a  monotonous  sing-song  chant. 

Veronica  looked  steadily  ahead,  reflective  and  sad,  yet 


99 

with  hope  faintly  astir  at  her  heart.  Her  figure  swayed 
lightly  on  her  Western  saddle  in  obedience  to  the  motion 
of  her  strong  limbed  pony,  which  trotted  untiringly 
along  the  road. 

After  a  ride  of  some  three  'miles  they  crossed  a  bridge 
over  a  stream  and  at  once  turned  aside  to  follow  its 
course  along  a  valley  lying  between  two  hills. 

"With  the  windings  of  this  wadi  the  stream  zig-zagged 
from  side  to  side,  its  banks  fringed  with  willows  and 
oleanders  which  were  still  a  mass  of  pink  flowers.  Of 
traffic  there  was  quite  an  amount,  for  the  road  led  to  the 
village  of  El-Fereidus  and  the  silk  factory  belonging  to 
John  Culver.  They  overtook  many  women  trudging 
along  on  foot.  Peasants  were  driving  strings  of  laden 
asses  in  each  direction. 

Soon  the  low  ridges  on  either  side  grew  tall  and  began 
to  draw  nearer  together.  At  a  bend  of  the  track  they 
rose  into  veritable  cliffs.  The  gap  between  looked  in  the 
distance  like  a  giant  gateway  through  which  the  stream 
flowed  into  the  same  river  that  watered  the  orchards  of 
Opella.  From  the  workshops  on  the  water  bank  came  the 
creaking  of  busy  silk  wheels.  The  air  was  alive  with  the 
whir  and  swish  of  many  shuttles  at  work.  There  was 
nothing  stagnant  in  this  special  factory  whatever  the  fat© 
of  other  heavily  taxed  industries. 

Veronica  checked  her  pony  to  walking  pace  and  leaned 
sideways  in  passing  to  look  through  the  unglazed 
windows.  A  man  standing  within  caught  sight  of  her 
and  came  at  once  into  the  road. 

"Hullo,  Veronica,  what  is  Nicholas  about  to  let  you 
stray  so  far  from  home  to-day?"  he  asked,  caressing  the 
pony,  which  turned  its  head  to  nozzle  him  familiarly. 

"It  was  my  last  chance  for  a  long  time,  he  told  me 


ioo        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

last  night,  and  as  Zorah  sent  me  a  message  yesterday  I 
didn't  want  to  disappoint  her.  All  well  here  I  hope." 
she  said,  indicating  by  a  glance  the  noisy  interior  beyond. 

"Could  not  be  better,"  he  said,  heartily,  then  his  brow 
clouded.  ' '  For  how  long  Allah  alone  knows ! ' ' 

"I  have  a  special  message  for  you  from  Nicholas," 
she  said,  gravely. 

"What  is  it?" 

"Not  here!  One  never  knows,"  she  replied  with  a 
significant  glance  at  a  muleteer  with  a  string  of  mules, 
and  then  at  some  idle  Arabs  lounging  about  the  entrance 
in  their  usual  happy  aimlessness. 

John  Culver  gave  her  a  straight  look  of  inquiry  from 
eyes  that  were  deep  set  and  curiously  luminous.  He 
was  a  tallish  man,  broad-shouldered,  yet  lean.  Though 
his  movements  were  deliberate,  almost  lazy,  they  gave  an 
impression  of  strength  in  reserve.  He  continued  to  scan 
her  face  as  if  discerning  a  something  new  and  unfamiliar 
in  its  expression. 

"I  will  come  up  to  the  house  after  Zorah  has  had  time 
to  empty  her  heart  and  show  off  the  boy's  new  tricks," 
he  said,  a  humorous  twinkle  in  his  eyes  suddenly 
brightening  his  somewhat  grave  face  delightfully.  "I 
hope  Zia  is  well?" 

"She  was  sleeping  soundly  when  I  left.  She  keeps 
better  on  the  whole  these  days,"  said  Veronica  moving 
away,  a  bright  color  called  into  her  cheeks  under  that 
penetrating  look. 

The  house  seen  from  below  was  a  mass  of  gray  stone 
looking  part  of  the  rocky  cliff  against  which  it  was  built. 
The  pony  climbed  nimbly  up  a  steep  winding  path  to  a 
postern  gate  in  the  wall  of  rock.  Here  Veronica  dis- 
mounted. As  Murad  led  the  two  beasts  away  to  the 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        101 

stable  the  gate  opened  and  Sheikh  All,  slim  and  long  in 
his  Bedouin  garb,  came  out. 

"Neharak  said,  ya  Sitt,  Veronica!"  he  said,  salaam- 
ing gravely. 

"May  your  day  also  be  blessed,  Sheikh  Ali,"  she 
replied,  smiling  kindly. 

"You  honor  the  house  with  your  presence,"  he  said, 
ceremoniously,  and  held  the  gate  open  for  her  to  enter. 

For  a  few  seconds  the  young  man  glanced  alternately 
within  and  without  the  gateway  as  if  attracted  by  two 
magnets  of  equal  interest.  Finally  he  deliberately  closed 
the  door,  gave  a  decisive  pull  to  his  abbai  over  one 
shoulder  and  stalked  after  Murad  calling  to  him  to  wait. 

Veronica  crossed  a  little  paved  court  and  mounted  a 
flight  of  stone  steps  which  emerged  under  a  colonnade  of 
arches.  Passing  through  the  nearest  into  a  vaulted  pas- 
sage she  paused  to  call  a  greeting  into  a  doorless  interior 
whence  came  to  tickle  the  nostrils  of  passers-by  spicy 
odors  suggestive  of  Oriental  cooking. 

The  old  woman  hovering  over  a  pan  of  charcoal  turned 
a  black  face  with  ivory  gleaming  teeth  to  beam  welcome 
upon  the  visitor. 

' '  Ey wallah !  It  is  none  other  than  Sitt  Veronica  her- 
self," she  cried.  "The  mother  with  her  son  wait  for 
you  on  the  terrace." 


CHAPTER  X 

JOHN  CULVER  was  one  of  those  emancipated  beings 
to  whom  the  dallying  ways  of  social  conventions 
mean  servitude  of  an  accursed  and  detested  type.  His 
father  had  run  the  silk  factory  before  him.  He  had 
been  nurtured  in  the  sound  of  its  looms,  bound  to  the 
Orient  by  a  life-long  meshwork  of  familiarity. 

School  years  spent  in  England  had  not  quenched  the 
spirit  which  carried  him  eastward  on  his  few  long  holi- 
days with  all  the  eagerness  of  a  homing  bird.  From 
adolescence  to  manhood  his  insuperable  impulse  to 
breathe  the  open  air  of  nature  had  grown  ever  fuller  and 
stronger.  Camping  out  under  the  stars  was  a  ceaseless 
delight.  He  found  life  of  any  kind  ideal,  that  had  the 
flavor  of  the  desert  in  its  breath. 

These  wild  and  happy  tastes,  held  within  certain  re- 
strictions during  his  parents'  lifetime,  burst  their  cage 
when  a  year  after  their  death  his  only  sister,  Esther, 
married  Nicholas  Severin  and  he  was  left  alone.  To 
relate  how  he  fell  in  love  with  and  won  his  Arab  wife 
in  spite  of  obstacles  galore  is  a  separate  chapter  of  his 
life. 

It  had  all  happened  one  transcendent  spring,  when  an 
irresistible  nostalgia  for  the  freedom  of  open  spaces  had 
driven  him  to  pitch  his  canvas  tent  between  green  slopes 
and  stretches  of  golden  sand,  among  the  tents  of  a 
friendly  group  of  the  Beni-Weldeh.  The  sons  of  the 
Weldeh  loved  him  as  a  brother  up  to  the  hour  in  which 

102 


103 

he  made  overtures  of  marriage  in  the  customary  way 
for  Zorah,  the  daughter  of  their  Sheikh  Mabruk. 

John  Culver  had  chanced  upon  a  timely  moment  in 
which  to  broach  his  proposal.  Owing  to  a  serious  dis- 
pute with  the  tax-collecting  powers  of  Turkish  authority 
the  Sheikh  and  his  family  were  in  grave  monetary  straits. 
Sheikh  Mabruk  had  been  arrested  and  put  into  prison. 
The  herds  and  flocks  had  been  confiscated,  all  except  a 
residue,  hastily  collected  and  driven  to  a  secret  hiding 
place. 

The  price  offered  by  the  Englishman  for  his  Arab 
bride  meant  not  only  release  for  his  prospective  father- 
in-law,  but  also  the  redemption  of  the  flocks,  with  a 
tempting  little  sum  over  and  above  to  hoard  against 
future  trouble.  Marriage  with  a  Roumi  was  against  the 
law  of  Islam,  but  then  the  Bedouin  are  not  strict  in 
religious  observances.  In  addition,  who  but  Allah,  him- 
self, could  have  opened  the  hand  of  the  rich  man  to  offer 
the  price  that  would  succor  their  tents? 

In  spite  of  the  fierce  criticism  and  opposition  launched 
by  conservative  spirits  of  both  sexes  against  a  hated, 
breach  in  the  social  codes  of  their  tribe,  the  pretensions 
of  rival  claimants  were  put  aside.  John  Culver's  per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  language,  his  high  standing  among 
the  Bedouin,  and  his  lavish  distribution  of  presents  re- 
moved obstacles  that  were  by  no  means  of  a  trifling 
nature. 

He  carried  his  will  through,  to  the  goal  of  signing  the 
marriage  contract  with  the  girl  whose  exotic  beauty  and 
a  something,  palpably  magnetic,  in  the  small  oval  face 
and  dark  eyes,  had  fired  him  body  and  soul,  and  mounted 
like  strong  wine  to  his  brain. 

For  Zorah  was  no  mere  beautiful,  barbarous  child  of 


104        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

the  desert.  She  stood  to  John  Culver  for  the  living 
symbol  of  an  ideal  he  had  cherished  all  his  life.  She  was 
the  embodiment  of  that  Orient  he  loved,  and  to  which 
but  for  the  accident  of  birth  he  belonged  as  truly  as  the 
native  born. 

On  the  whole  he  lived  on  good  terms  with  his  wife's 
relations.  Upon  Zorah  had  fallen  the  brunt  of  the  dis- 
pleasure stirred  up  by  the  marriage.  Yet  John  Culver's 
pockets  were  too  well  lined  to  make  his  enmity  profitable 
to  the  Beni-Weldeh.  The  arrival  of  the  baby  son 
smoothed  over  the  breach  to  a  great  extent. 

Ali,  the  eldest  son  of  Sheikh  Mabruk,  spent  most  of 
his  time  in  the  Culver  household,  or  in  the  factory, 
whichever  his  fancy  favored  for  the  moment.  For  the 
cult  of  the  normal  Bedouin  is  how  best  to  dispose  of  his 
time  agreeably,  with  neither  the  wish  nor  the  obligation 
to  work  imposed  upon  him.  Between  him  and  his  sister 
was  a  bond  of  strong  affection.  He  worshiped  his  small 
nephew.  John  Culver  more  than  tolerated  his  Bedouin 
brother-in-law.  He  even  liked  him. 

During  the  Balkan  war,  life  at  El  Fereidus  had  re- 
mained practically  untouched,  save  for  the  thinning  out 
of  the  factory  hands  by  recruiting  agents  of  the  Sultan. 
Women  had  stepped  in  to  work  the  vacant  looms.  But 
the  present  crisis  held  strange  omens. 

How  long  would  John  Culver  be  left  in  freedom  to 
carry  on  his  business?  What  would  be  its  fate  once 
Turkey  stepped  definitely  to  the  side  of  Germany  and  her 
Allies?  For  he  was  still  a  British  subject,  though  an 
alien  to  his  country's  customs. 

These  were  only  a  few  of  the  vexed  questions  cud- 
geling his  brains  as  he  entered  the  house  and  climbed  in 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        105 

his  deliberate  way  to  the  roof  terrace  which  Zorah  made 
her  chief  abiding  place. 

His  face  relaxed  as  he  mounted  the  steps.  Little  danc- 
ing lights  broke  up  the  gravity  of  his  eyes.  He  lifted 
his  head  as  if  to  inhale  the  scents  which  drifted  lazily  to 
meet  him.  Subtly  penetrating  scents,  both  bitter  and 
sweet,  scents  in  which  oleander,  geranium,  myrtle,  thyme, 
and  other  alluring  odors  alternately  prevailed. 

The  terrace  roof  was  broad  and  long,  one  half  running 
at  right  angles  to  the  other.  He  came  out  on  the  end 
overlooking  the  gorge,  and  gave  a  glance,  as  he  passed, 
into  the  upper  chamber.  The  persiennes  were  drawn 
and  in  the  shaded  interior  a  long  mirror  glinted,  and 
white  mosquito  nets  hovered,  like  pale  ghosts,  over  the 
deep  Tyrian  blue  of  the  silken  bed  covers. 

Tubs  of  oleanders  in  rosy  bloom  bordered  the  outer 
wall  of  the  terrace.  Across  the  deep  angle  from  parapet 
to  the  roof  room  there  stretched  a  barrier  of  trelliswork 
overrun  with  bougainvillea,  a  mass  of  purple  stars  of 
many  shades  and  of  flaming  ruby.  Over  the  low  arch 
in  the  center,  and  almost  hiding  it,  trailed  long  tresses 
of  foliage  splashed  with  the  same  wine-tinted  petals. 

With  a  touch  that  protected  the  flowers  John  Culver 
parted  the  living  curtain  and  stood  for  a  moment  looking 
at  the  home  of  his  dreams.  It  was  a  home  into  which 
had  entered  more  than  a  little  of  vthe  charm  that  had 
lulled  the  Lotus-eater  in  that  "land  where  it  was 
always  afternoon." 

The  ground  was  thickly  strewn  with  sand  that  glistened 
white  in  the  sunlight.  Couched  on  the  sand  was  a 
Bedouin  tent,  one  of  the  most  approved  kind,  having  in 
addition  to  the  dark  brown  roof  and  overhanging  drapery 


io6        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

of  goatshair  canvas,  walls  of  woven  reed  matting  after 
the  style  of  the  desert. 

Several  young  palm  trees,  appearing  to  grow  out  of  a 
projecting  ledge  of  rocky  soil,  spread  their  fans  against 
the  cliff  behind.  A  feathery  tamarisk  rose  above  the 
parapet  in  the  far  corner.  Climbing  geraniums 
wandered  in  profusion  round  an  embrasure  in  the  end 
wall  which  opened  upon  a  vista  of  the  river,  winding 
north  towards  the  broken  waves  of  faraway  lavender 
hills. 

Passers-by  on  the  water  below  the  grim  house,  built 
like  a  fortress  into  the  rock,  were  apt  to  look  up  at  the 
high  outer  wall,  honeycombed  with  the  usual  loopholes, 
and  say  "The  Englishman  knows  how  to  guard  his 
harem  securely  as  any  Pasha. ' ' 

The  Englishman  himself  walked  over  to  the  tent  where 
the  reed  walls  facing  the  view  of  the  river  were  widely 
opened.  The  entrance  was  enlarged  and  sheltered  from 
the  sun  by  an  awning  of  thickly  interlaced  green  boughs, 
which  Ali  had  taken  unaccustomed  pains  that  same  morn- 
ing to  freshen  and  re-arrange  in  honor  of  the  expected 
guest.  Just  outside  was  a  myrtle  bush  in  flower,  grow- 
ing in  a  giant  vase  of  hammered  brass. 

A  low  divan  was  spread  out  under  the  leafy  sun  screen. 
Veronica,  leaning  dreamily  against  a  pile  of  cushions, 
looked  up  as  John  Culver's  tall  figure  suddenly  ap- 
peared. 

"You  are  alone?  How  is  that?"  he  said,  quickly, 
glancing  at  the  child's  toys  which  littered  the  sand. 

"Only  for  a  moment.    Here  comes  Zorah,  herself!" 

As  she  spoke  the  division  curtain  within  the  tent  was 
lifted  by  a  little  hand  with  henna-stained  finger  tips. 
A  slender  figure,  stipple  and  graceful,  stepped  lightly  to 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        407 

view,  wearing  a  wrapper  of  soft  muslin  spotted  with  red, 
and  girdled  with  a  silken  cord.  A  tiny  red  cap  was  set 
saucily  on  the  dark  hair,  which  was  waved  and  abundant, 
and  drawn  into  two  long  plaits  interwoven  with  gold  and 
red  threads. 

By  what  magic  had  John  Culver  induced  his  wife  to 
banish  even  temporarily  the  massive  silver  ornaments  and 
coins  which  are  the  dowry  of  every  Bedouin  woman? 
Only  the  bracelets  encircling  her  wrists  and  arms  were 
still  retained  in  their  place.  Perhaps  the  rare  jeweled 
chain  she  wore  round  her  neck,  the  ruby  studded  disk  in 
her  hair,  and  two  smaller  ones  to  match  hanging  from  her 
ears  were  part  of  the  magic. 

How  well  they  set  off  the  mellow  tan  of  the  brilliant 
little  face  to  which  the  velvety  texture  and  color  of  per- 
fect health  gave  an  added  luster.  She  had  a  small 
straight  nose,  and  finely  curved  lips.  The  upper  one 
was  short,  the  lower  pouted.  Little  blue  stars  tattooed 
sparsely  round  the  mouth  and  a  trio  of  them  between 
the  eyebrows  lent  a  far  more  startling  piquancy  to  her 
face  than  that  given  by  any  variety  of  Georgian  patch. 

But  in  looking  at  Zorah  all  these  features  were  for- 
gotten by  the  beauty  of  her  eyes.  They  were  so  big  and 
dark  and  unfathomable,  and  their  look  so  penetrating 
and  yet  caressing,  with  the  white  of  their  setting  height- 
ened to  a  pearly  brilliancy  by  a  light  shadow  of  kohl 
round  the  socket.  John  Culver  found  in  these  eyes  all 
the  best  that  the  East  possessed,  shadow  and  light,  fire 
and  proud  aloofness,  and  above  all  dreams,  the  shudder- 
ing, vague  yet  tranquil  dreams  of  the  Orient. 

"He  sleeps,"  she  said,  taking  his  hand  and  drawing 
him  behind  the  curtain. 

He  had  to  lower  his  head  to  pass  into  the  tent  and  gaze 


io8        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

at  the  picture  of  his  son  asleep  on  the  rug  spread  out 
for  his  morning  nap.  It  was  a  picture  that  was  always 
new. 

Zorah  looked  down  upon  the  sturdy  little  limbs  with  an 
ecstasy  of  love  and  worship  in  her  face.  Suddenly  a 
cloud  flitted  across  its  sunshine.  She  turned  with  a  hur- 
ried gesture,  nestling  up  against  her  husband  as  she  held 
out  her  hand  palm  downward.  He  bent  his  head  to 
press  his  lips  to  her  thick,  sweet-smelling  hair. 

As  she  lifted  her  hand  it  seemed  of  a  sudden  as  if  the 
eternal  charm  of  the  East  was  shed  anew  in  the  subdued 
light  of  the  tent.  A  rare  ring  was  on  her  finger,  inset 
with  a  huge  turquoise,  a  blue  wonder  of  a  stone  which 
seemed  to  reflect  its  own  brightness,  and  then  after  fur- 
ther concentration  again  to  send  it  forth.  Zorah  prized 
this  ring  as  her  very  life.  It  was  her  mascot,  protecting 
her  against  the  evil  eye  and  many  other  dreaded  dangers. 
The  stone  was  a  turquoise  without  blemish,  possessing 
magic  qualities.  As  long  as  she  wore  it  she  would  be 
happy,  but  if  ever  she  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  it  why 
then  her  happiness  would  take  unto  itself  wings  and1 
forsake  her. 

"May  Allah  protect  him!"  she  said.  "For  look,  the 
stone  has  become  green.  I  am  afraid." 

John  put  his  arm  round  her  and  raised  the  little  hand 
to  look  closely  at  the  ring. 

"Be  at  ease,  Zorah,  my  star!"  he  said.  "Remember 
the  words  of  the  soothsayer  when  we  purchased  the  ring. 
If  danger  threatens,  the  stone  will  become  green  because 
it  will  be  drawing  the  danger  upon  itself.  If  it  seems 
green  now,  it  is  drawing  the  bad  influence  away  from  you 
and  the  boy." 

It  was  so  simple  a  matter  to  explain  the  omen  satis- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        109 

factorily  from  the  Oriental  point  of  view  that  John 
Culver  had  no  scruples  in  driving  out  the  fancy  of  danger 
by  an  appeal  to  his  wife's  credulity. 

"You  have  certainly  eased  my  soul,  but  still  I  am 
afraid,"  she  said  slowly  with  an  anxious  look  at  the 
child  and  then  at  the  ring,  "but  our  guest  is  alone. 
She  is  in  trouble.  We  must  go  back  to  her. ' ' 

This  last  revelation,  Veronica  in  trouble,  explained 
Zorah  's  mood.  What  did  it  mean,  pondered  John  Culver 
as  he  seated  himself  cross-legged  on  the  ground,  his 
back  against  the  divan,  while  Zorah  dexterously  pulled 
forward  and  piled  behind  him  the  hard  bolsters  which, 
to  her  continual  wonder,  he  always  preferred  to  the  pil- 
lows. As  he  handed  round  cigarettes  to  which  Zorah 
held  a  lighted  match  in  turn,  as  befitted  her  role  as 
hostess,  he  noticed  that  Veronica's  eyes  glittered,  and 
their  lids  were  slightly  red  as  if  she  had  recently  wept. 

"What  is  the  message?"  he  asked  suddenly. 

"How  much  do  you  know?"  asked  Veronica.  "I 
don't  want  to  give  you  stale  news." 

"He  knows  what  I  have  unfolded  to  you,  my  sister," 
put  in  Zorah.  "Speak  on!  Only  the  leaves  are  listen- 
ing to  us  here." 

To  John  Culver,  who  was  just  another  big  brother  like 
Nicholas  to  Veronica,  her  narrative  was  unreserved  ex- 
cept as  regarded  the  closer  tie  now  existing  between  her- 
self and  Pierre.  John,  however,  did  not  fail  to  notice 
the  hesitating  tremor  of  her  voice  when  it  was  necessary 
to  bring  in  the  Frenchman's  name.  Very  different  was 
her  accent  of  disdain  and  animosity  when  referring  to 
Otto  Rosen. 

' '  Never  liked  the  man, ' '  thrust  in  John  Culver,  push- 
ing out  his  under  lip.  They  talked  in  Arabic  on  Zorah 's 


no        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

account.  "Now  he  will  be  a  declared  open  enemy,  for 
his  behavior  to  Zia  is  unpardonable." 

"The  enemies  of  my  husband  are  also  mine,"  added 
Zorah,  with  a  little  click  of  her  tongue,  and  a  sudden 
flashing  yet  intense  look  in  her  eyes. 

He  surveyed  her  with  a  slow,  whimsical  smile.  The 
thought  of  personal  danger  was  still  alien  to  him.  It 
seemed  an  impossible  notion  after  the  long  years  in  which 
he  and  his  family  before  him  had  lived  on  good  terms 
with  natives  and  foreigners  alike,  above  all  with  the 
Turks.  And  at  the  back  of  his  mind,  in  spite  of  uneasy 
speculation,  lay  the  hopeful  probability  of  being  allowed 
to  remain  unmolested  and  forgotten  in  his  quiet  back- 
water, however  the  waters  of  strife  might  rage  and  swirl 
in  the  open. 

"If  the  Bedouin  pitch  their  tents  in  the  camp  of  the 
Turks  who  have  made  friends  with  the  Germans,  what 
then?"  he  said,  teasing  her.  "For  the  English  are  at 
war  with  the  Germans,  you  know." 

"Allah  has  not  given  a  man  two  hearts,"  she  made 
quick  reply,  "and  as  your  heart  is  with  me  and  your 
son  it  cannot  be  English.  It  is  Bedouin." 

"You  see,  Veronica,  how  Zorah  has  settled  the  mat- 
ter," he  said,  raising  his  eyebrows. 

"Zorah  wishes  to  test  your  courage.  A  daughter  of 
Sheikh  Mabruk  knows  well  that  a  man  must  always  be 
ready  to  fight  the  enemies  of  his  race,"  said  Veronica, 
thinking  of  Pierre  especially,  and  speaking  out  of  the 
fullness  of  her  home  training. 

"It  is  not  yet  certain  who  are  his  enemies,"  returned 
Zorah,  darting  beneath  her  long  black  lashes  an  appeal- 
ing, apprehensive  look  over  to  John.  "No  man  lives 
who  is  braver  than  my  husband,  but  our  star  would  be  an 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        111 

evil  one  if  destiny  ordained  that  he  must  fight  in  the 
English  camp." 

"Shall  I  be  allowed  the  choice?"  said  John,  stolidly. 
"When  the  war  cloud  bursts — it  is  right  overhead  at 
this  moment — those  who  raised  the  storm  will  command, 
and  not  offer  a  choice." 

"Though  women  are  words  and  men  are  deeds,  yet 
Zorah  has  spoken  wisely,"  said  a  soft  yet  guttural  voice, 
as  Ali's  slim  figure  stepped  noiselessly  to  view  and 
squatted  cross-legged  on  the  rug  before  them.  "You 
are,  indeed,  our  brother,  the  true  son  of  our  tents.  God 
give  you  long  life ! ' ' 

John  Culver  looked  up,  frowning. 

"How  long  have  you  been  there,  Ali!"  he  said, 
quietly. 

"No  longer  than  to  listen  to  my  sister's  words,  and 
wait  the  right  moment  to  draw  near,"  said  the  young 
man,  suavely. 

Veronica  was  secretly  provoked  at  Ali's  appearance. 
For  she  was  on  the  point  of  stating  that  Nicholas  stood 
exactly  in  the  same  predicament  as  John,  liable  to  be 
called  upon  at  any  moment  to  take  arms  against  their 
friends. 

"What  is  England  to  you  now,  my  friend  and 
brother?"  Ali  went  on.  "What  happiness  does  that 
land  of  no  sun  and  false  friends  ever  give  to  you  ? ' ' 

"False  friends?  You  invent  a  strange  fable  there," 
interrupted  John,  smiling  grimly. 

"By  my  eyes,  there  is  little  else  talked  of  in  the 
bazaars  to-day  but  the  falseness  of  English  promises, 
and  the  sapping  of  their  strength. ' ' 

"By  whom?" 

"Those  powerful  war  lords,  the  Germans,"  said  Ali, 


112        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

uneasily.  "I  do  not  love  the  Germans,  but  they  are 
strong,  and  their  purse  overflows.  It  is  said  that  they 
hold  the  fate  of  this  land  in  the  hollow  of  their  hands." 

''Don't  believe  it,  All,"  said  Veronica,  emphatically. 
"There  are  Russia  and  France  to  reckon  with  as  well  as 
England." 

"God  forbid  that  I  should  repeat  a  lie,"  disclaimed 
Ali,  with  visible  excitement.  "The  cry  of  the  Jehad  is 
sounding  in  all  the  camps.  There  are  tribes  who  have 
already  sworn  on  the  holy  book  that  each  one  of  them 
is  the  brother  of  all  other  Moslems,  that  united  for  the 
cause  of  Allah  they  will  fight  together  as  one  gun,  and 
if  they  die  fall  together  under  the  same  sword.  And 
this  they  have  sworn  on  the  mouth  and  the  heart." 

"Speak  on,  Ali,"  said  Zorah,  imperatively.  "Empty 
your  heart  of  all  you  have  seen  and  heard." 

"Yesterday  after  sundown  when  I  rode  out  to  our 
camp,  a  holy  man  of  the  Shekhi  Bekhr  came  and  stood  in 
the  door  of  my  father's  tent.  All  our  men  gathered 
round  to  listen.  'Allah,  the  All-Powerful,  wills  that 
your  sword  drinks  blood,'  cried  the  holy  man,  'for  the 
time  long  foretold  is  now  at  hand.  All  infidels  are  to 
bite  the  dust,  and  the  dust  of  their  bones  will  be  used 
to  whiten  the  mosques.'  He  said  that  first  of  all  it  was 
necessary  for  all  true  believers,  and  above  all  the  young 
men,  to  learn  the  fighting  ways  of  the  enemy.  For  their 
art  of  war  is  more  powerful,  and  subtle,  and  hard  to  do 
battle  with  than  any  kind  of  combat  hitherto  known. ' ' 

John  Culver  nodded  his  head,  wisely. 

"It  is  clear  that  Enver  Pasha  wants  more  soldiers 
for  the  Turkish  army,"  he  broke  in.  "That  is  what  the 
dervish  came  to  procure.  If  to  gain  his  purpose  he  in- 
cites honest  Bedouin  to  kill,  like  the  Kurds,  for  their 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        113 

pastime,  he  goes  against  the  writing  of  the  Khoran." 

With  glowing  pride  Zorah's  eyes  enveloped  her  hus- 
band. What  a  man  thus  to  be  able  to  read  the  secret 
motives  of  other  men ! 

What  she  did  not  know  was  that  he  spoke  deliberate 
intent  to  influence  Ali,  and  through  him  his  family  and 
camp  to  consider  another  standpoint.  For  none  knew 
better  than  John  Culver  that  from  no  fanatical  impulse, 
but  only  if  it  suited  their  purpose,  would  the  Bedouin 
rise  to  the  cry  of  the  Jehad.  Self  interest  alone  would 
spur  them  to  take  every  advantage  of  a  priceless  oppor- 
tunity, once  pillage  and  killing  became  authorized,  pro- 
vided the  victims  were  not  of  the  Moslem  faith. 

"What  was  Sheikh  Mabruk's  reply  to  the  dervish?" 
asked  John,  while  Ali,  nimbly  rolling  a  fresh  cigarette, 
seemed  to  be  revolving  the  fresh  idea  put  into  his  head. 
Zorah  gazed  solemnly  at  her  ring. 

"All-seeing  and  all-knowing  as  is  my  brother,  he 
knows  that  my  father  is  a  man  not  easily  to  be  persuaded. 
What  can  Sheikh  Mabruk  gain  by  taking  an  oath?  Is 
he  not  already  the  sheikh  above  all  other  sheikhs  of  this 
country  ?  Can  he  not  already  help  himself  to  all  that  he 
wants  whether  it  be  a  sheep,  a  tent,  or  a  camel?"  said 
Ali,  evasively,  his  black  eyes  glancing  furtively  yet  with 
a  fiery  alertness  of  gaze  from  one  to  the  other  of  his 
listeners. 

"Take  him  this  word  from  me,"  said  John  Culver, 
emphatically.  "Let  him  beware  of  making  a  compact 
with  the  holy  man.  If  he  does,  you  will  be  taken  with 
all  the  young  men  of  your  tents  to  add  fighting  power  to 
the  Turkish  army.  Directly  the  news  is  spread  abroad 
that  only  the  old  men  are  left  to  guard  the  tents,  brigands 
will  attack  and  destroy  everything.  They  will  carry  off 


n4       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

the  flocks  and  herds,  the  women  and  children,  and  bum 
the  harvest.  When  the  sons  of  the  Weldeh  come  back 
from  fighting  the  battles  of  the  Germans  and  the  Turks 
—it  is  certain  that  all  will  not  return,  for  some  will  be 
killed  and  others  maimed— what  then  will  they  find  in 
the  place  that  was  once  their  own?  Death  and  desola- 
tion!" 

Zorah  gave  a  low  wailing  cry  and  began  to  rock  her 
body  to  and  fro.  Veronica  shivered  and  grew  suddenly 
pale. 

"Allah  forbid  these  things!"  exclaimed  Ali,  getting 
up  with  a  swift,  lithe  movement.  "I  will  go  and  tell 
all  you  say  to  my  father,  and  open  the  eyes  of  my  broth- 
ers. There  is  a  way  out  of  the  snare.  Inshallah!  We 
must  take  it." 

"The  gate  of  the  desert  is  never  shut,"  said  Zorah, 
lifting  her  head  with  eager  understanding. 

"Where  is  the  boy?  Let  me  see  him  before  I  go," 
said  Ali,  abruptly. 

Zorah  rose,  and  together  they  slipped  behind  the  cur- 
tain of  division. 

"John!  Why  did  you  paint  such  a  terrible  scene? 
Do  you  truly  anticipate  the  worst?"  said  Veronica  in 
a  low  voice. 

"Anything  may  happen,"  he  said,  guardedly,  "and 
to  make  an  impression  on  Sheikh  Mabriik  after  the 
dervish's  fiery  oration,  strong  colors  are  necessary.  His 
friends  are  mine  and  I  want  them  to  realize  the  truth. 
Once  before  Ali  only  just  escaped  conscription.  You 
know  what  that  means  in  the  Turkish  army  for  such  a 
nature  as  his.  He  would  be  shot  for  insubordination,  or 
go  utterly  under.  It  was  I,  myself,  who  found  and  paid 
the  substitute.  In  this  war  there  will  be  no  way  out 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        115 

once  the  noose  of  service  is  round  his  neck.  The  Turks 
will  press  every  able-bodied  man  they  can  find  into  uni- 
form." 

"What  about  yourself,  John?"  she  asked,  anxiously. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.  The  lines  suddenly  deep- 
ened between  his  brows. 

"Allah  knows!"  he  ejaculated. 

"In  case  Zorah  should  become  even  more  alarmed  let 
me  give  you  the  special  message  from  Nicholas  now. 
You  must  be  well  on  your  guard,  he  says,  for  directly 
Turkey  declares  war  it  is  quite  certain  that  all  the 
Frenchmen  and  Englishmen  in  Syria  will  be  im- 
prisoned. ' ' 

"Nicholas  may  be  right.  For  myself  I  cannot  yet  see 
clearly  what  will  happen.  One  thing  is  certain  that  it  is 
the  Germans  who  are  setting  the  Jehad  in  motion.  It 
is  a  dangerous  game  to  risk  placing  the  heel  of  the 
Moslem  on  their  own  neck. ' ' 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"They,  too,  are  Christians,"  said  John,  significantly. 
"The  preaching  of  the  Jehad  must  in  the  end  recoil  on 
themselves.  They  never  show  more  than  the  crudest 
comprehension  of  the  mind  of  the  Orient." 

Zorah  and  Ali  reappeared. 

"Hanna!  This  is  the  moment  of  decision  of  which  I 
have  already  spoken,"  said  Zorah,  going  up  to  John. 
She  caught  at  his  hand  and  pressed  it  to  her  lips  and 
against  her  heart.  "If  our  father  orders  the  tents  to 
be  folded  and  the  camels  loaded,  let  Ali  tell  him  that  we 
with  our  son  will  go  with  them  on  their  journey. ' ' 

Ali  stood  behind  immovable  as  a  statue,  but  for  his 
eyes,  which  glanced  alternately  from  Veronica  to  John 
and  back  again. 


n6       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

John  clasped  his  wife's  fluttering  hand  and  held  it 
firmly  within  his  own. 

"It  cannot  be  done,  my  dear,"  he  said  in  a  tender, 
grave  voice,  "at  least  not  to-day,  and  perhaps  not  in  a 
week  of  days.  Can  I  leave  my  house  unguarded  for 
thieves  to  break  in  and  rob?  Can  I  go  away,  shut  up 
the  workshops,  and  silence  the  looms  all  in  a  moment?" 

"All  these  matters  weigh  light  as  dust  in  the  balance 
compared  with  the  safety  of  our  son,"  she  said, 
passionately. 

"True,  0  mother  of  Daud,  but  would  you  have  me 
throw  away,  as  of  no  account,  the  heritage  of  our  son? 
I  do  not  say  we  must  stay  here  if  it  is  dangerous  to  re- 
main, but  that  I  must  have  time  to  put  my  affairs  in 
order,  to  pay  off  and  satisfy  the  workers,  and  to  find  a 
faithful  guardian  of  my  property.  Would  you  wish  my 
son  to  be  a  beggar  when  he  comes  to  the  age  of  Ali  ? ' ' 

If  the  Germans  had  meager  insight  into  the  mind  of 
the  Orient,  it  was  clear  that  John  Culver  knew  exactly 
how  to  adapt  both  word  and  imagination  to  the  desired 
point  of  view.  Zorah's  liquid  eyes,  hesitating,  question- 
ing, looked  from  John  to  Ali,  and  back  to  John. 

"What  my  English  brother  says  is  well,"  said  Ali. 
"Inshallah !  He  must  be  given  time,  but  if  what  he  has 
told  us  is  the  truth,  what  is  done  should  be  done 
quickly." 

"Then  you  must  lose  no  time  in  getting  back  to  the 
camp,"  said  John,  calculating  with  the  caution  and  ac- 
quired intrigue  of  the  East;  but,  once  roused,  pushed 
by  his  English  blood  to  prompt  action.  "Let  me  know 
without  delay  what  course  Sheikh  Mabruk  decides  to 
take.  I  will  send  a  messenger  to  the  town.  Before  sun- 
down I  shall  know  whether  it  will  be  well  to  send  Zorah. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        117 

and  the  boy  to  the  -tents  of  her  father  while  I  remain 
at  El  Fereidus  to  finish  what  must  be  done." 

"No!  With  you  only  will  I  go,"  said  Zorah,  agi- 
tatedly. ' '  Where  the  father  of  my  son  is,  there  will  his 
mother  be  found. ' ' 

"Zorah,  my  angel,  you  will  do  what  is  best  for  the 
boy,"  John  replied  with  finality.  "And  now  do  not 
allow  your  brother  to  leave  the  house  fasting.  Come,  the 
meal  is  ready.  We  will  go  down  at  once." 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  LI,  too  impressed  to  linger  even  over  a  meal  was  soon 
on  the  way.    An  hour  later  Veronica  started  for 
home  accompanied  by  John.     Zorah,  though  eager  and 
nervous,  was  of  one  mind  with  her  husband  touching  the 
importance  of  getting  reliable  news  from  Opella. 

"One  thing  I  omitted  to  tell  you,"  said  Veronica,  as 
they  rode  up  the  valley,  Murad  ahead  on  his  mule. 
"Herr  Rosen  is  certain  to  visit  us  some  time  to-day.  It 
is  his  way  to  repent  of  his  bad  temper  and  then  try  to 
atone  for  it  by  some  extra  attention.  It  will  never  do 
for  you  to  meet  him." 

"Poor  Rosen!"  said  John,  quizzically.  "He  has 
somehow  missed  the  road  to  your  special  good  will  I 
can  see." 

' '  He  has  never  had  any  chance  of  finding  it, ' '  she  re- 
plied, quickly,  "and  now,  as  an  enemy,  he  is  outside  the 
line." 

"Be  careful!  When  crossed,  Otto  Rosen  can  show  a 
very  nasty  temper. ' ' 

"You  are  as  bad  as  Nicholas,"  she  said,  hastily. 
"Neither  of  you  can  teach  me  how  to  manage  that  man. 
I  find  it  easy  enough." 

They  reached  the  bridge  and  in  another  minute  would 
have  crossed  to  the  highway,  but  a  sound  of  many  horses 
approaching  checked  their  progress.  Suddenly  a 
troop  of  Turkish  cavalry  came  into  sight,  followed  by  a 
carriage  and  more  cavalry  behind. 

118 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        119 

With  a  hurried  exclamation  John  Culver  jumped  to 
the  ground,  wheeled  his  own  horse  half  round,  and 
backed  Veronica's  pony  to  the  shadow  of  trees  at  the  side 
of  the  bridge. 

"It  must  be  Ahmed  Pasha,  the  new  military  com- 
mander," he  explained,  rapidly,  "who  was  not  expected 
till  to-morrow.  Events  are  marching.  "We  must  wait 
till  they  are  well  ahead." 

But  for  Murad,  who  halted  stockstill  and  open- 
mouthed  in  the  middle  of  the  bridge,  the  general  and  his 
escort  would  have  passed  by  without  a  glance  at  the  way- 
side group.  The  beast,  with  action  particularly  mulish, 
unexpectedly  kicked  up  its  heels,  pitching  its  rider  into 
the  dust,  then  promptly  turned  tail  and  started  on  a  wild 
career  down  the  gorge. 

With  a  loud  cry  Murad  scrambled  up  and  started  in 
pursuit,  shouting  down,  as  he  ran,  all  imaginable  curses 
on  the  parentage  of  the  runaway.  Curiosity  drew  every 
eye  in  that  direction,  the  clamor  even  attracting  the 
notice  of  the  important  officers  in  the  carriage. 

Ahmed  Pasha's  glance  flashed  from  John  Culver  to 
Veronica  with  keen  observation.  An  officer  sitting  op- 
posite leaned  forward  and  spoke  to  him  as  the  carriage 
went  by.  At  once  the  pasha  turned  his  head  to  look 
again,  this  time  with  a  gaze  of  searching  scrutiny. 

"Oh,  you  brother  of  asses !"  ejaculated  John  in  Arabic 
vernacular  as  he  looked  after  Murad,  and  then  turned 
a  curiously  anxious  look  after  the  vanishing  riders. 

"I  have  seen  the  new  pasha  before,  John,"  said 
Veronica,  excitedly.  "He  was  in  the  hotel  this  summer 
for  several  days.  I  fancy  he  recognized  me." 

"I  shouldn't  be  surprised,"  he  said,  slowly,  looking  at 
her,  ' '  and  if  I  were  your  mother  I  should  follow  Oriental 


120        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

and  not  French  customs,  and  never  allow  you  to  go  out 
unveiled. ' ' 

Veronica's  eyes  widened,  and  then  she  laughed  gayly. 
She  knew  what  he  meant,  but  her  consciousness  of  be- 
longing entirely  to  Pierre  put  every  other  man  in  too  re- 
mote a  perspective  to  cause  her  uneasiness.  Besides  the 
pasha  was  out  of  the  plane  altogether. 

"Let  us  be  getting  on,"  she  said,  after  a  pause. 
"Murad  will  find  his  own  way  home." 

What  had  not  penetrated  her  mind  was  John's  per- 
sonal idea  that  Ahmed  Pasha's  chief  attention  had  fixed 
upon  him,  the  Englishman,  now  a  suspect  to  the  Turkish 
mind.  For  he  knew  very  well  the  Opella  officer  who  had 
provoked  that  second  look  from  the  carriage. 

"All  right,  but  instead  of  riding  at  their  heels  and 
perhaps  getting  into  a  crowd  at  the  gates  let  us  take  the 
way  through  the  orchards,  though  a  little  longer,"  said 
John,  privately  resolving  to  return  later  by  boat  and 
again  avoid  the  high  road.  With  Zorah  and  the  boy  to 
consider  he  had  no  mind  for  the  moment  openly  to  flaunt 
his  nationality. 

For  similar  reasons  he  took  Veronica's  advice  about 
Otto  Rosen,  and  to  escape  a  needless  encounter  went  di- 
rect to  the  hospital  to  consult  with  Nicholas. 

As  it  happened,  Rosen,  through  no  fault  of  his  own, 
found  it  impossible  to  leave  the  consulate  except  on  im- 
portant visits  to  the  Wali,  the  new  Commander,  and  his 
Austrian  colleagues.  He  could  not  get  off  even  for  an 
hour  till  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day. 

Veronica  had  driven  to  the  orchard  in  the  morning, 
ostensibly  to  fetch  vegetables  and  fruit,  but  in  reality  to 
see  if  Zuleika  had  brought  her  a  message. 

The  note  which  her  fingers,  cold  and  shaking  with  ex- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        121 

citement,  had  discovered  when  the  homing  pigeon  safely 
arrived  had  fluttered  from  the  trees  to  her  neck,  she  had 
placed,  for  greater  security,  in  a  tiny  charm  bag,  and 
hung  round  her  neck  in  hiding  against  her  breast. 
When  Rosen  called  she  was  sitting  in  a  vine-shaded 
corner  of  the  big  veranda  over  some  needlework. 

She  watched  him  come  out  of  the  corner  of  her  eyes. 

' '  Be  temperate !  Let  him  say  all  he  wants  to, ' '  her 
mother  had  said,  warning  her  not  willfully  to  anger  him. 
"Times  were  never  more  serious.  Invite  his  confidence 
by  all  means.  What  he  will  tell  you  may  be  of  great 
value.  For  his  statements,  though  highly  colored  with 
his  German  bias,  will  not  be  all  false. ' ' 

Veronica  recalled  his  bad  temper  with  Zia  on  two  oc- 
casions, and  John's  recent  word  of  cau-tion.  An  hour 
ago  she  had  had  a  heated  discussion  with  Nicholas,  in 
which  he  had  sternly  forbidden  her  to  go  to  the  orchard 
again,  or  anywhere  else  outside  the  town  gates.  Now 
that  the  highways  were  filled  with  recruits  coming  and 
going,  soldiers  on  the  march,  convoys  of  supplies  merg- 
ing from  all  parts  on  this  military  center,  women  were 
safer  under  their  own  roof. 

For  war  was  a  declared  fact.  Christians  as  well  as 
Moslems  were  being  pressed  into  its  service.  His  work 
in  the  hospital  had  increased  out  of  all  measure. 
Whether  he  would  be  allowed  to  remain  in  charge  or  be 
commandeered  to  some  medical  unit  on  active  service 
was  still  in  the  balance.  The  subject  had  already  been 
broached. 

But  all  these  matters  were  subservient  in  Veronica's 
mind  to  the  central  fact  of  Pierre's  proved  safe  de- 
parture from  Syria.  This  knowledge,  still  potent  to 
lull  other  alarms,  braced  her  mental  attitude  and  charged 


122 

her  with  courage  to  face  difficulties  of  the  future.  The 
love,  deep  and  soul-swaying,  which  had  grown  in  her 
heart  with  the  speed  of  all  growth  under  Eastern  skies, 
was  to  her  as  an  impenetrable  breastplate  from  which  ap- 
prehension still  glanced  aside  without  reaching  a  vital 
target. 

What  if  Nicholas  had  to  go  away  ?  They  would  feel  it 
deeply,  especially  little  Mother;  but  so  would  every 
mother  whose  son  was  called  up.  It  was  a  cruel  destiny 
that  in  this  way  divided  and  broke  up  countless  families. 
Still  Nicholas  would  be  more  favored  than  others,  as 
whether  in  hospital  or  on  active  service,  he  would  be  able 
to  pursue  the  work  he  loved.  At  home  surely  all  would! 
run  on  smoothly.  Zia  would  still  be  well  cared  for,  and 
even  if  their  hearts  were  desolate  and  filled  with  sus- 
pense, they  would  all  wait  patiently  for  the  war  to  end, 
praying  that  God  would  soon  send  peace  to  the  world. 

It  was  after  this  fashion  Veronica's  thoughts  were 
working  hard  when  she  caught  sight  of  Rosen.  A  sus- 
picious moisture  had  dimmed  her  eyes,  while  musing, 
so  that  his  figure  sdemed  blurred.  She  sat  on  quietly, 
taking  no  notice  of  his  approach,  and  all  the  time  steel- 
ing herself  to  the  encounter. 

Rosen  always  carried  his  head  high,  but  his  customary 
assurance  to-day  gave  an  impression  of  suppressed  ex- 
citement, which  might  signify  elation  or  triumph,  or  a 
little  of  both.  Yet  as  he  drew  near  his  steps  slackened. 
He  was  secretly  uncertain  how  Veronica  would  receive 
him,  feeling  sure  that  her  detestable  little  niece  would 
have  colored  their  quarrel  in  her  own  favor. 

That  secluded  nook  on  the  veranda  where  Veronica 
sat  seemed  isolated  from  the  tumult  of  the  big  world  out- 
side, cut  off  from  the  clamor  and  intrigue  of  the  tur- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        123 

bulent  town,  which  Rosen  had  left  for  a  brief  interlude 
on  the  other  side  of  the  door  in  the  high  wall. 

There  was  a  calm  loveliness  and  confidence  about  the 
girl  sitting  serenely  at  work  that  called  strongly  to  the 
home  ideal  implanted  in  his  Teuton  nature.  More  than 
that,  she  appeared  to  him,  in  some  mysterious  way,  a 
dream  type  of  that  Germania  which,  unperturbed  and 
steadfast,  watched  over  and  guided  the  conquering  arms 
of  her  devoted  sons. 

Suddenly,  in  spite  of  his  manifold  preoccupations,  and 
the  dual  growth  of  ambition  and  the  authority  he  loved, 
he  began  to  dream  of  the  possibilities  of  a  parallel  ex- 
istence full  of  intimate  joys  and  the  repose  of  home  life. 
And  his  dream  circled  solely  round  the  figure  of 
Veronica,  making  her  the  object  of  a  passionate  desire 
eternally  to  have  and  to  hold  somewhere  apart  from  the 
ugliness  of  a  world  at  war. 

In  quick  response  to  the  sentimental  twist  of  imagi- 
nation he  now  hurried  up  the  veranda  stairs.  Many 
a  time  he  had  kissed  Veronica's  hand  before,  but  never 
with  the  lover's  ardor  of  to-day. 

Veronica,  incensed,  could  scarcely  resist  lifting  her 
free  hand  to  administer  a  smart  box  on  the  ears.  His 
action,  harmless  enough  when  strictly  ceremonial,  had 
become  a  liberty,  above  all  to  one  whose  hands  and  lips 
belonged  to  another. 

She  snatched  her  hand  away.  He  looked  at  her  re- 
proachfully, and  suddenly  depressed. 

"You  are  still  angry?''  he  asked, 

''Angry?  Not  at  all.  "Why  should  I  be  angry?"  she 
said,  coldly,  feeling  momentarily  that  now  Pierre  was 
safely  on  the  sea  nothing  else  mattered,  and  that  she 
could  and  must  defy  this  man. 


124       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Because  I  have  been  long  in  coming.  Believe  me,  it 
was  unavoidable." 

Veronica's  eyes  still  sparkled,  though  her  cheeks 
colored  by  anger  had  turned  again  to  their  clear  pallor. 

"These  are  days  when  a  man's  time  is  not  at  his  own 
disposal.  Shall  I  call  mother,  or  is  it  Nicholas  you  have 
come  to  see?"  she  said,  evasively,  and  again  fell  in- 
dustriously to  work,  chafing  at  his  obtuseness. 

'* Don't  trifle  with  me,  Veronica,"  he  said,  earnestly. 
"You  know  very  well  I  have  slipped  away  with  enor- 
mous difficulty  to  see  you  and  you  only.  Chiefly  to  make 
my  peace  with  you." 

"But  I  have  no  quarrel  with  you,  Herr  Rosen,"  she 
said,  flashing  a  look  at  him. 

"Nothing  serious,  I  hope,"  he  replied,  nervously  ad- 
justing his  eyeglasses,  "but  I  am  sensitive  to  the  least 
change  in  your  manner  towards  me.  Let  us  come  to 
such  an  understanding,  that  doubt  with  each  other  will 
never  enter  our  hearts." 

He  made  a  gesture  as  if  again  to  seize  her  hand. 
Veronica,  putting  down  her  work,  managed  at  the  same 
time  to  draw  back  her  chair.  She  felt  chilled  inwardly 
with  the  effort  to  repress  her  true  feelings,  while  search- 
ing for  a  way  out  of  the  position. 

' '  Evidently  you  imagine  doubt  where  none  exists, ' '  she 
said,  trying  to  speak  as  one  good  friend  to  another. 
"You  mean  well,  I  am  sure,  but  you  are  apt  to  be  hasty, 
as  for  instance  with  our  delicate  little  Zia,  yet  you  have 
a  good  heart,  and  you  know  what  your  German  proverb 
says,  ende  gut,  alles  gut!" 

It  did  not  occur  to  her  that  the  kindliness  of  her  voice, 
though  forced,  was  a  direct  encouragement.  His  brow 
instantly  cleared. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        125 

"Now  I  am  certain  of  your  full  forgiveness,"  he  said, 
eagerly.  "I  was  hasty.  It  is  my  nature,  unhappily. 
To  show  my  regret,  look  what  I  have  brought, ' '  he  dived 
into  his  pockets,  "two  boxes  of  chocolates  for  Zia  in- 
stead of  the  one  I  took  away.  My  heart  is  good  at  bot- 
tom, and,  believe  me,  it  beats  only  for  you  my  beautiful 
Veronica. ' ' 

' '  You  must  not  say  that, ' '  she  stammered. 

"Don't  put  me  off  again,  my  dear,  good  Veronica," 
he  sr.id,  vehemently,  this  time  capturing  her  hand,  and 
attempting  to  draw  her  into  his  arms.  "You  know  how 
devotedly  I  love  you.  Your  mother  knows.  She  must 
have  told  you.  I  confessed  everything  to  her. ' ' 

"You  have  no  right  to  hold  me,  Herr  Rosen,"  said  the 
girl,  escaping  from  him,  "and  what  you  tell  my  mother 
has  nothing  to  do  with  me." 

Baffled  but  by  no  means  rebuffed,  he  stood  looking  at 
her  with  both  passion  and  reproach  in  his  eyes.  How 
could  he  in  any  way  subdue  this  wayward,  beloved  being 
to  his  will  ?  She  must  in  reality  love  him.  He  was  quite 
assured  of  that. 

"Sit  down!  Don't  be  frightened,"  he  said,  suddenly, 
forcibly  controlling  himself.  "Let  us  talk  quietly  to- 
gether. I  want  to  tell  you  how  our  love  for  each  other 
will  not  only  create  unspeakable  happiness  for  us  both, 
but  be  the  means  of  rendering  the  greatest  service  to 
your  family  during  the  war." 

"Love  for  each  other?"  she  queried,  coldly.  "When 
have  I  given  you  any  reason  to  imagine  that  I  loved 
you!" 

"Always,"  he  responded  at  white  heat,  "with  your 
eyes,  your  voice,  your  music,  your  songs,  you  have  al- 
ways encouraged  me  to  think  so." 


126       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"You  have  no  right  to  say  that,"  she  interrupted, 

hotly. 

"Can  you  honestly  say  you  were  ignorant  of  my  feel- 
ings towards  you?"  he  said,  vehemently. 

"Not  altogether,  but  it  is  false  to  say  I  ever  en- 
couraged you." 

"Unconsciously,  Veronica,  unconsciously,  since  the 
other  displeases  you,"  he  said,  raising  his  voice,  ex- 
citedly. "No  man  could  be  near  you  and  not  love  you, 
and  you  know  it.  One  thing  I  know  well  myself,  though, 
that  if  any  other  man  dares  to  step  in  between  you  and 
me,  I  will — "  he  broke  off,  abruptly,  the  threat  choked 
by  a  quick  rebirth  of  suspicion,  "but  there  is  no  other 
man,  is  there,  Veronica?" 

He  bent  forward  to  look  her  full  in  the  face.  An 
ominous  light  glimmered  in  his  eyes. 

"Is  there  another  man?"  he  repeated,  grimly. 

Under  his  look  and  at  his  words  her  face  went  red  and 
white  by  turns.  Waves  of  hot  color  surged  from  within 
and  swept  over  her  cheeks  to  the  very  tips  of  her  fingers. 

1 '  How  dare  you  look  at  me  like  that  ? ' '  she  exclaimed, 
defiantly,  with  flashing  eyes. 

Otto  Rosen's  gaze  shifted,  as  if  automatically,  into 
space  above  her  head.  His  teeth  set  rigidly  together. 
Bitterness  and  rage  consumed  him  inwardly,  his  breast 
heaved. 

"It  is  the  Frenchman,"  he  snapped,  viciously. 
"Deny  it  if  you  can!" 

"You  insult  me!  You  are  cruel!"  gasped  Veronica. 
"No  girl  could  love  a  man  like  you." 

Her  flushed  cheek  turned  pale  as  her  fortitude  sud- 
denly forsook  her.  She  hid  her  face  in  her  hands  and 
began  to  weep  convulsively. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT         127 

Startled  and  dismayed,  with  rapid  revulsion  of  feeling 
Rosen  flung  himself  on  his  knees  before  her. 

11  Forgive  me,  forgive  me!  I  would  not  wound  you 
willingly  for  all  the  world,"  he  poured  out,  distractedly. 
"I  know  I  am  bad-tempered  and  horribly  jealous,  even 
of  the  air  that  touches  your  cheek.  I  beseech  you,  my 
beloved  Veronica,  my  sweet,  dear  girl,  dry  your  tears. 
I  will  never  give  you  reason  to  shed  them  again.  You 
shall—  " 

' '  You  must  get  up  at  once !  Somebody  may  come  and 
see  you,"  she  said  in  a  choked  voice,  drying  her  eyes. 
"It  is  useless  to  quarrel,  but  if  we  are  to  remain  friends 
you  must  never  say  such  things  to  me  again.  I  cannot 
bear  it." 

Subdued  even  to  the  point  of  instant  obedience  Rosen 
got  up  and  stood  over  her  silently,  feeling  that  he  would 
gladly  renounce  every  other  dream  of  his  life,  and  the 
bliss  of  heaven  itself,  if  only  once  he  could  hold  her  in 
his  arms  and  hear  a  word  of  love  from  her  lips.  He  had 
never  dreamed  it  was  possible  for  him  to  feel  for  any 
woman  as  he  felt  for  her.  It  was  madness,  he  knew, 
but  nothing  else  mattered  in  the  world. 

All  at  once  a  door  close  at  hand  was  flung  open  and 
Amina  hurried  forward.  At  sight  of  Rosen  she  stopped 
abruptly,  but  recovering  herself  came  close  up  to 
Veronica  in  spite  of  his  scowling  look. 

"Come  at  once,  little  lady,  without  delay,"  she  said 
in  a  hushed,  excited  voice. 

' '  What  is  the  matter  1 ' '  said  Veronica,  startled,  spring- 
ing to  her  feet. 

"The  Sitt  wants  you.  .It  is  very  pressing,"  and 
Amina  ran  back  to  the  house,  followed  as  quickly  by  her 
young  mistress. 


128        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Rosen  instantly  suspected  a  ruse,  a  pre-arranged  plan 
of  again  putting  him  off.  Be  clutched  his  hat,  caught 
up  the  boxes  of  chocolates,  and  strode  off  impetuously. 
At  the  head  of  the  stairs  his  steps  wavered  and  came  to 
a  standstill.  He  had  begun  to  debate  furiously  with 
himself,  whether  to  wait  for  Veronica's  possible  return, 
or  to  act  with  finality  and  leave  the  house  never  to  enter 
it  again.  While  still  hesitating  he  heard  a  voice  calling 
him. 

"Effendi!  Effendi!  Will  it  please  you  graciously  to 
come.  You  are  wanted,"  and  Amina  reappeared  before 
him,  flurried  and  heated. 

Perplexed,  but  acutely  gratified  and  relieved,  he  fol- 
lowed the  woman,  who  led  him  to  a  small  anteroom  at 
the  end  of  the  lewan. 

Here  his  eyes  fell  on  an  agitated  group  gathered  round 
the  figure  of  an  old  black  woman  who  sat  hunched  up  on 
the  floor,  rocking  herself  to  and  fro  in  a  paroxysm  of 
grief. 

Mme.  Severin,  seated  on  the  edge  of  a  divan,  was  bend- 
ing over  her  strange  visitor  with  pale  and  worried  face. 
Close  by,  whispering  together  with  repressed  excitement, 
stood  Amina  and  Murad.  Veronica  knelt  beside  the  old 
woman.  She  had  taken  her  by  the  hand  and  was  talking 
to  her  quickly  yet  soothingly. 

' '  What  is  it  ? "  asked  Rosen,  hurrying  up  to  her  genu- 
inely concerned. 

"A  dreadful  thing  has  happened,"  she  said,  looking 
up.  "John  Culver  has  been  arrested.  He  is  in  some 
prison,  and  no  one  knows  what  has  become  of  his  wife 
and  child." 

"John  Culver  in  prison?"  repeated  Rosen,  taken 
aback  and  scenting  a  complication  for  which  he  had 


129 

little  relish.  He  spoke  as  if  trying  to  call  back  the 
name. 

' '  You  know  him  well.  The  brother-in-law  of  Nicholas 
and  Zia  's  uncle.  A  man  who  has  lived  all  his  life  under 
Turkish  rule,  paying  his  taxes  loyally,  like  his  father 
before  him,  with  the  best  of  Turkey's  subjects,"  said 
Anna  Severin  in  a  deep  emphatic  voice.  "  To  me  he  was 
like  a  second  son. ' ' 

"Ai!  Ai!  Ai!"  wailed  the  woman  on  the  floor, 
though  not  a  word  was  intelligible  to  her,  the  conversa- 
tion being  carried  on  as  usual  in  French. 

' '  Who  brought  the  news  ? ' '  he  asked,  shortly,  twisting 
with  nervous  speed  the  long  points  of  his  mustache. 

' '  This  woman  who  was  the  household  cook.  She  is  still 
too  agitated  to  give  many  details,"  said  Mme.  Severin. 

"It  was  only  the  day  before  yesterday  I  rode  out  to 
El  Fereidus  to  visit  them,"  said  Veronica,  looking  up. 
"John  came  back  with  me  to  the  town  thinking  that 
Murad  alone  was  not  sufficient  escort. ' ' 

"Quite  right!"  nodded  Rosen,  approvingly. 

"He  also  wanted  to  see  Nicholas,  and  find  out  the 
truth  about  affairs,  but  it  was  chiefly  on  my  account  he 
came  to  the  town,"  continued  Veronica,  rapidly,  "and 
now  I  feel  it  is  all  my  fault." 

' '  You  see  he  was  arrested  that  same  day  when  passing 
through  the  town  gate  on  his  way  home,"  explained 
Mme.  Severin.  "The  woman  says  that  a  guard  of 
soldiers  came  to  the  house  that  night.  They  kept  her 
busy  cooking  for  them  all  yesterday.  Early  this  morn- 
ing she  managed  to  slip  away,  but  has  been  long  in  get- 
ting here  because  she  was  afraid  of  being  followed  and 
put  in  prison.  You  know  how  timid  these  people  are. 
Whether  the  wife  and  child  were  taken  away  by  the 


i3o       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

military,  or  whether  by  some  means  or  other  they 
escaped  she  cannot  tell.  They  have  disappeared  with- 
out leaving  trace  of  any  kind.  The  silk  factory  is  to 
be  run  for  government  purposes,  and  the  house  used 
for  military  officials.  The  men  on  guard  talked  of  these 
matters  without  reserve." 

"Oh  dear,  oh  dear,  whatever  can  we  do!"  cried 
Veronica.  "Poor  innocent  John  clapped  in  prison  like 
a  common  thief.  The  Zorah  he  adores  and  their  beauti- 
ful boy  not  to  be  found.  It  is  infamous.  Should  the 
news  reach  him  in  prison  it  will  kill  him." 

1 '  It  is  all  because  he  is  an  Englishman, ' '  put  in  Mme. 
Severin.  "Otto,  my  friend,  will  all  English  subjects  be 
arrested  f ' ' 

"They  will  certainly  be  interned,  and  not  only  the 
English,  but  all  enemy  aliens, ' '  he  said,  stiffly. 

"But  John  Culver  is  our  relative  and  friend," 
Veronica  protested  with  warmth.  She  sprang  to  her 
feet  and  stood  provocatively  before  him.  "Now,  Herr 
Rosen,  is  the  moment  to  test  the  strength  of  your  friend- 
ship for  us.  Procure  his  freedom!  You  can  if  you 
choose. ' ' 

Rosen  looked  darkly  at  her,  a  strife  of  cross  feelings 
struggling  within  him  and  showing  outwardly  in  his 
rapidly  changing  expression, 

"Your  influence  at  the  Serai  and  with  the  "Wali  would 
go  far,"  suggested  Mme.  Severin,  persuasively. 

"What  is  Nicholas  doing?"  he  asked,  abruptly. 
"Where  is  he?" 

Mon  Dieu !  He  knows  nothing  at  all  so  far.  He  has 
had  to  visit  some  important  out-patients,  and  took  Zia 
with  him  in  the  carriage.  It  will  be  a  great  blow  to  hear 
that  his  wife's  brother  has  been  treated  like  this." 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        131 

"Have  no  fear,  Mamotschka,"  said  Veronica,  confi- 
dently. "Herr  Rosen  is  going  to  put  this  injustice 
straight." 

Otto  Rosen's  face  was  a  study  while  she  spoke.  He 
flashed  her  a  queer  questioning  look,  then  turned  and 
paced  a  few  steps  up  and  down,  his  head  bent,  his  fingers 
still  busied  with  his  mustache. 

' '  You  must  realize  that  the  arrest  is  quite  in  order  with 
war  regulations.  There  is  no  chance  of  Culver's  re- 
lease," he  said,  halting  suddenly,  and  speaking  directly 
to  Veronica.  "I  may  possibly  procure  amelioration  of 
his  treatment  as  a  prisoner.  For  this  I  will  do  my  best. ' ' 

"That  is  always  something,"  said  Mme.  Severin, 
slowly. 

"But  not  enough,"  Veronica  added,  imperiously. 
"We  want  to  know  the  truth  about  Zorah  and  the  boy. 
It  is  impossible  for  them  to  have  vanished  into  thin  air 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  officials  who  ordered  this 
cruel  raid  on  El-Fereidus.  You  will  not  fail  to  find  out, 
Herr  Rosen?" 

"It  will  certainly  be  difficult,"  he  said,  uneasily. 

"What  does  that  matter  if  you  gain  your  end?"  she 
retorted,  not  realizing  the  double  significance  of  her 
words  till  she  saw  the  light  leap  into  his  eyes. 

Personally  he  cared  not  a  jot  whether  John  Culver 
ever  regained  his  liberty  or  not.  As  for  the  wife  and 
child  the  ambiguity  of  their  fate  was  but  part  and  parcel 
of  the  fortune  of  war.  Yet  to  please  Veronica  he  was 
willing  to  move  certain  levers  of  influence,  secretly, 
discreetly. 

For  by  doing  so  to  success,  he  would  gain  the  end  for 
which  he  was  striving  so  ardently.  She,  herself,  had 
said  it.  He  would  hold  her  to  her  word. 


132        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Ende  gut,  alles  gut?  Is  that  still  your  true  and 
final  word?"  he  said,  significantly,  in  a  low  voice,  com- 
ing close  up  to  her. 

"Yes,  certainly!"  she  replied,  fearlessly. 

"Good!"  he  ejaculated  and  looked  at  his  watch. 
"The  sooner  I  begin  the  better.  Besides  I  have  im- 
portant engagements  already  overdue  and  a  host  of 
pressing  business  matters  to  settle." 

He  turned  to  Mme.  Severin. 

"Au  revoir,  dear  Madame !  Let  me  have  any  new  de- 
tails you  can  gather  later  from  the  woman.  They  will 
all  help." 


CHAPTER  XII 

IN  days  of  suspense  which  followed  nothing  more  defi- 
nite was  added  to  the  narrative  of  the  old  black 
woman.  Over  the  subsequent  fate  of  John  Culver  after 
his  sudden  arrest  at  the  town  gates  hung  an  impenetrable 
veil.  Similar  obscurity  blotted  out  Zorah  and  her  boy. 
Nicholas  tried  familiar  means  of  underground  enquiry 
but  discovered  nothing  fresh.  Even  Ali,  whose  coming 
and  going  never  failed,  showed  no  sign  of  life. 

Had  recruiting  agents  got  hold  of  him  ?  The  Severins 
did  not  think  so.  Rather  had  John's  prophecy  of  com- 
ing disaster  driven  him  swiftly  to  cover. 

"Probably  the  whole  camp  has  made  a  bolt  for 
safety,"  said  Nicholas.  "They  would  strike  tents  and 
move  away  the  same  night  that  Ali  took  them  the  mes- 
sage from  John." 

"In  that  case  Zorah  could  not  possibly  be  with  them 
unless  Ali  was  able  to  get  back  to  the  house  in  John's 
absence,"  said  Veronica.  "Yet  old  Fatima  would  have 
known  that." 

"Not  of  necessity,"  put  in  Madame  Severin,  "and  I 
really  don't  think  it  possible  for  Zorah  to  have  played 
her  husband  such  a  trick,  for  she  would  have  had  to  start 
without  even  knowing  of  his  arrest.  All  the  same, 
mother  love  may  have  driven  her  to  take  a  desperate  step 
while  brooding  alone." 

One  of  their  surmises  was  soon  verified.  Nicholas 
coming  in  one  day  said  he  had  just  heard  that  the 
Beni-Weldeh  encampment  was  actually  broken  up  and 

i33 


134        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

not  a  trace  left  in  its  wake.  A  quick  swift  Rahil  had 
evidently  followed  the  sudden  news  of  an  approaching 
danger.  Nothing  further  could  be  known  till  some  sign 
reached  them  through  Ali  himself  or  a  deputy. 

"The  only  alternative  is  to  wait  and  see  what  Otto 
Kosen  finds  out,"  said  Mme.  Severin. 

"What  he  has  done  you  mean,"  amended  Veronica. 
"If  he  chooses  to  act  he  can  get  John  freed.  If  not,  why 
then  I  have  finished  with  him. ' ' 

The  angry  passage  with  Herr  Rosen  had  left  a  strong 
impression  on  Zia.  Highly  strung  and  always  frail,  a 
mental  upset  generally  reacted  on  her  weak  body  in  a 
way  that  only  her  father  rightly  understood.  His  indig- 
nation with  Rosen  had  been  the  stronger  for  its  necessary 
repression. 

So  far  every  one  had  succeeded  in  keeping  from  the 
child  the  bad  news  about  her  Uncle  John.  This  was  all 
the  easier  because  conscription  had  carried  off  Murad, 
and  Amina  left  alone  would  not  for  worlds  divulge  any- 
thing to  bring  a  tear  to  the  eyes  of  the  child  she  adored. 

Zia  had  not  escaped  reproof  from  her  grandmother 
for  display  of  temper  to  Herr  Rosen  when  a  guest  of  the 
house. 

"But  I  tell  you  Meme  it  was  Herr  Rosen  who  first  lost 
his  temper, ' '  protested  the  child  petulantly,  ' '  because  he 
wanted  to  know  what  Monsieur  Marson  talked  about  and 
I  would  not  tell  him." 

"Unless  you  had  first  told  him  Monsieur  Marson  was 
with  us  that  evening  Herr  Rosen  would  have  known 
nothing  at  all  about  his  visit,  my  little  one, ' '  said  Mme. 
Severin,  firmly.  "I  have  told  you  before  you  are  not  to 
chatter  about  our  visitors.  You  will  know  the  reason 
when  you  are  older." 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        135 

"But  I  didn't  say  what  we  talked  about,"  protested 
Zia,  with  a  catch  in  her  voice. 

Mme.  Severin  kissed  the  quivering  little  face.  "Be- 
cause my  little  girl  knows  even  at  her  age  the  difference 
between  honorable  and  dishonorable  behavior.  That  is 
a  lesson  you  have  learnt  well,  cherie. ' ' 

Then  in  a  few  simple  words  she  explained  that  now 
Turkey  had  entered  the  great  European  war  France  was 
no  longer  a  neutral  in  the  Ottoman  empire,  and  that 
when  Monsieur  Marson  dined  with  them  in  the  garden 
he  was  already  Herr  Rosen's  enemy,  and  might  easily 
have  been  prevented  from  going  back  to  France.  "So 
once  again,  petite,  remember  you  must  never  tell  the 
names  of  any  of  our  guests  to  Herr  Rosen  or  to  anybody 
else.  It  might  mean  bad  consequences  for  all  of  us,  and 
disaster  for  our  visitors. ' ' 

"What  bad  consequences  ?  Will  they  kill  us  and  make 
us  martyrs  like — "  began  the  child,  excitedly. 

"Hush,  my  dove!"  said  the  grandmother,  sooth- 
ingly. ' '  Perhaps  some  one  might  be  put  in  prison. ' ' 

' '  Prison ! ' '  echoed  the  child,  still  showing  agitation. 

"Or  at  any  rate  made  to  pay  a  big  fine  of  money,  or 
perhaps  tortured,"  said  Mtae.  Severin,  meditatively,  as 
if  for  an  instant  off  guard.  "Who  can  tell!  You  must 
never  forget  to  say  your  prayers  diligently,  and  ask  to 
be  made  brave.  Heaven  knows  you  will  need  every  help 
they  can  give  you  in  life,  petite. ' ' 

Nicholas  Severin  disapproved  of  this  enlightenment 
for  Zia.  His  mother  disagreed  and  in  the  end  he  yielded 
the  point  seeing  that  it  might  prevent  further  mischief. 
For  at  all  times  their  house  had  been  a  place  of  refuge 
for  hardly  pressed  compatriots.  In  such  times  as  the 
present  even  the  silence  of  a  child  had  to  be  ensured. 


136       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"She  has  a  loyal  soul,"  said  Mme.  Severin  warmly, 
"and  now  she  knows  the  necessity  will  be  mute  as  a  fish." 

All  the  same  Zia  showed  stubborn  reluctance  to  accept 
Rosen 's  peace-offering  of  chocolates.  It  was  just  as  well 
he  was  not  present  when  they  were  put  into  her  hands 
for  she  dashed  the  boxes  to  the  floor.  A  child's  con- 
fidence once  outraged  is  not  readily  renewed,  and  this 
was  one  of  singularly  intense  and  sensitive  feeling,  due 
perhaps  to  the  blending  of  her  Eastern  and  Western 
blood. 

A  week  went  by  before  Otto  Rosen  paid  his  next  visit 
to  the  house,  a  hurried  one  late  one  evening.  Since  the 
town  had  filled  with  military  bustle  the  gate  in  the  high 
wall  was  kept  bolted  by  day  as  well  as  night.  Amina 
hastened  to  open  directly  she  heard  the  loud  demand  of 
the  kawass  for  admittance.  With  an  order  to  the  kawass 
to  drive  on,  execute  a  commission,  and  then  return  and 
wait  for  him  the  German  consul  entered  and  walked  up 
to  the  house. 

The  room  into1  which  he  was  ushered  was  poorly  lighted 
by  one  petroleum  lamp  burning  low,  a  different  illumi- 
nation from  that  which  prevailed  on  days  when  he  was 
expected.  He  scarcely  gave  himself  time  to  make  the 
usual  greetings  to  Mme.  Severin  and  Nicholas  before 
turning  to  Veronica.  The  confident  intimacy  of  his 
manner  and  look  at  once  affronted  her. 

"You  come  to  give  us  news  of  course.  Is  it  satis- 
factory?" she  asked  distantly. 

About  to  reply  he  stopped  short,  his  gaze  arrested  by 
a  figure  in  black  seated  on  the  divan.  At  once  Mme. 
Severin 's  voice  broke  the  silence. 

"You  can  speak  freely,  my  friend.    Pastor  Kasbarian 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        137 

is  a  family  connection  of  my  husband.  I  cannot  recall 
if  you  have  met  each  other  before,"  and  she  made  the 
formal  introduction,  adding  that  their  relative  was  visit- 
ing Opella  to  say  good-by  to  his  son  who  had  been  called 
up  for  military  service. 

Pastor  Kasbarian  rose  to  his  feet,  showing  a  long  gaunt 
body,  which  gathered  itself  slowly  up  as  if  none  too  ready 
to  make  this  new  acquaintance.  Otto  Eosen,  bowing 
stiffly,  received  an  impression  of  a  black  bearded  face  in 
which  one  eye  only  burned  like  a  live  coal,  while  its  fel- 
low was  extinct  under  the  closed  shrunken  lid. 

"Pastor  Kasbarian  hoped  to  obtain  exemption  for  his 
son,  but  has  not  succeeded  so  far,"  said  Dr.  Severin. 

' '  If  his  son  enjoys  good  health  it  seems  only  fair  from 
the  German  standpoint  that  all  Christians,  especially  the 
young,  should  help  the  Moslems  to  bear  the  burden  of 
military  service,"  was  Otto  Rosen's  comment,  taking  his 
seat  by  Veronica. 

"If  only  there  be  no  treachery,"  said  the  pastor  in  a 
deep  rough  voice. 

"That  would  be  out  of  the  question  if  Christian  loy- 
alty always  encouraged  the  Turks  to  believe  in  it. ' ' 

"My  good  sir,  have  you  been  long  in  Asia  Minor?" 
asked  Pastor  Kasbarian. 

"Some  eight  years,"  returned  Rosen,  aggressively. 
"You  can  safely  presume  that  I  know  what  I  am  talking 
about.  There  are  Armenians  at  this  moment  in  the 
Russian  army.  Isn't  that  sufficient  proof  of  Christian 
disloyalty  to  Turkey?" 

Veronica  turned  indignant  eyes  on  the  speaker,  her 
look  plainly  stating  that  such  an  attack  on  their  guest 
reached  the  limit  of  her  toleration. 


138        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Yes,  Armenians  who  were  Russian  subjects  before 
the  war,  and  so  came  under  conscription.  Surely  you 
know  that/'  thrust  in  Nicholas,  quietly. 

"There  are  others.  I  can  cite  hundreds,"  snapped 
Rosen.  "No  colony  of  Armenians  settled  abroad  has  yet 
attempted  to  come  back  and  fight  for  Turkey." 

"I  should  think  not,  indeed,"  Veronica  burst  in  with 
passion  in  her  voice.  "Those  colonies  consist  solely  of 
Armenians  who  have  managed  with  great  difficulty  to 
escape  murder  at  the  hands  of  the  Turks. ' ' 

"Veronica!"  called  her  mother,  sharply,  then  con- 
tinued in  a  tense  voice.  "Loyalty  is  of  small  value  un- 
less reciprocal,  Herr  Rosen.  Our  relative's  experience 
of  Turkish  loyalty  has  been  bitter.  He  lost  his  eye  in 
defending  his  family  during  the  massacres  of  1909.  Not 
all  were  saved  even  then,  and  another  son  fell  in  action 
fighting  for  Turkey  in  the  Balkan  war.  The  son  for 
whom  he  seeks  exemption  is  the  only  one  left.  You  see 
his  Christian  loyalty  to  the  Turkish  over-lords  has  al- 
ready demanded  a  heavy  toll." 

With  distinct  uneasiness  Rosen  stared  for  a  few 
seconds  at  Pastor  Kasbarian,  who  sat  with  bent  head, 
troubled  and  brooding. 

"Certainly  that  is  a  melancholy  family  history,"  he 
said,  deliberately,  "but  as  my  time  is  limited  your 
relative  will  excuse  my  entering  into  his  troubles  at  the 
present  moment.  You  asked  me  a  question";  he  turned 
again  to  Veronica.  "As  I  promised  I  have  made  every 
effort  but  with  poor  result. ' ' 

"What  do  you  mean?"  she  asked,  impetuously. 
"You  keep  us  in  suspense.  Is  Mr.  Culver  out  of  prison? 
Have  you  found  out  anything  about  his  wife  and  child?" 

He  shook  his  head  and  then  replied,  "You  have  no  idea 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        139 

of  the  difficulties  that  occur  in  investigating  any  side 
issues  to-day.  In  the  face  of  all  that  is  happening,  and 
the  high  pressure  of  military  preparations  this  matter, 
however  important  to  those  concerned,  simply  does  not 
count." 

' '  Oh,  doesn  't  it ! ' '  said  Veronica,  sarcastically.  ' '  Per- 
sonal affairs  must  all  be  dropped  then.  Is  that  what 
you  mean?" 

He  gave  her  a  side  glance,  at  once  eager  and  furtive. 

"Oh,  dear  no,  only  those  personal  affairs  that  in- 
terrupt work  devoted  to  the  one  all-important  business. ' ' 

"The  business  of  war,  I  suppose,"  she  said,  indiffer- 
ently. "War,  and  always  the  war  these  days!  Why 
are  you  men  always  trying  to  take  by  force  something 
that  does  not  belong  to  you?  Why  do  you  not  prefer 
peace,  and  try  to  make  life  always  happy  and 
beautiful?" 

"Because  the  root  of  war  lies  in  human  nature  itself," 
he  said,  propounding  the  platitude  in  the  tone  of  one  who 
humors  a  spoilt  child,  "and  as  long  as  human  nature  re- 
mains unchanged  there  will  always  be  war. ' ' 

"War  is  detestable.  It  is  a  sin  against  humanity," 
she  retorted  warmly. 

' '  On  the  other  hand  eternal  peace  is  a  dream,  said  our 
wise  Moltke,  and  not  even  a  beautiful  dream.  The  ideal 
of  perpetual  peace  has  always  been  the  pet  Utopian  de- 
lusion of  exhausted  and  spiritless  ages,"  he  said 
sententiously. 

"This  is  all  beside  the  point,  Veronica,  and  I  am  sure 
Herr  Rosen  has  something  else  of  importance  to  tell  us, ' ' 
put  in  Mme.  Severin,  uneasily  aware  that  it  was  breath 
wasted  to  try  and  disabuse  the  German  mind  of  its  own 
pet  delusion  that  war  was  a  good  thing. 


i4o        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Otto  Rosen  adjusted  his  pince-nez  and,  looking 
straight  ahead,  began  to  speak  in  a  stubborn  voice. 

"You  must  recognize  that  the  English  are  in  par- 
ticularly bad  odor  with  the  Turkish  authorities  just  now. 
The  prisoners  made,  they  intend  to  hold,  and  are  even 
unwilling  to  grant  them  privileges.  On  the  other  hand 
orders  for  general  fair  treatment  have  been  issued  to 
officials  in  Syria,  who  will  be  held  responsible  for  the 
safety  of  individual  English  subjects." 

"So  far  so  good,"  said  Mme.  Severin,  "but  I  should 
like  to  know  where  John  Culver  is." 

"He  is  interned  in  Damascus." 

"Not  in  the  public  prison  I  hope,"  said  Nicholas. 

"In  the  public  prison,"  repeated  Rosen  dryly,  "and 
considering  that  it  is  to  the  English  nation  alone  we  owe 
all  the  mischief  of  this  war  the  public  prison  is  good 
enough  for  any  Englishman.  Remember  Amasia! 
That  was  entirely  due  to  English  perfidy,"  he  added, 
significantly. 

He  alluded  to  a  tragic  episode  following  Napoleon's 
famous  expedition  to  the  East,  which  had  been  recently 
recalled  to  public  notice  in  the  French-press  through  the 
research  of  a  noted  traveler.  It  seemed  that  after  the 
Convention  of  El  Arish,  signed  Jan.  28,  1800,  the 
English  had  given  up  a  number  of  captured  French 
soldiers  to  the  Turks.  Ten  of  these  were  conducted  as 
far  as  Amasia  in  Asia  Minor,  and  there  offered  their 
lives  and  a  new  start  in  life  if  they  would  become  Mos- 
lems. Five  had  consented  to  adopt  the  turban.  The 
five  who  refused  were  then  shut  up  in  one  of  the  ancient 
rock  tombs  of  the  cliff  overlooking  the  town. 

For  two  years  the  wretched  prisoners  lingered  in  this 
purgatory,  and  then  still  refusing  to  renounce  their  faith 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        141 

were  taken  out  and  put  to  death.  The  tradition  of  their 
slow  torture  in  the  tomb  was  still  preserved  in  Amasia, 
wrote  the  traveler.  He  had  discovered  their  names  cut 
into  the  stone  walls  of  the  cells. 

Only  a  few  months  back  Otto  Rosen  had  been  present 
when  Mme.  Severin  had  received  a  French  newspaper 
giving  full  details  of  the  whole  episode  and  announcing 
the  intention  of  the  ' '  Oeuvre  du  Souvenir  Francais ' '  of 
erecting  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  five  martyred 
soldiers.  They  had  talked  long  and  with  deep  interest 
of  the  subject. 

Rosen's  inopportune  reminder  of  the  sad  story  struck 
them  dumb.  Veronica's  throat  contracted  painfully. 
"Where  once  she  had  regarded  Rosen  with  indifference 
she  felt  more  and  more  that  she  was  growing  to  hate 
his  very  presence.  Pastor  Kasbarian  merely  smiled,  a 
slow,  terrible  smile  suggestive  of  sinister  reminiscences 
compared  with  which  the  fate  of  the  French  soldiers 
seemed  a  mild  and  merciful  one. 

"I  hold  no  brief  for  the  English  nation,  but  surely 
you  are  strongly  prejudiced,  my  friend,"  said  Mme. 
Severin,  speaking  at  last  with  evident  effort. 

"Ask  the  Turks,"  he  replied  with  warmth,  "how  by 
intrigue  long  before  the  war  the  English  tried  their  best 
to  force  the  emirs  of  Rasliid,  Mushammerah  and  Koweit 
to  form  themselves  into  a  confederacy  under  an  English 
protectorate. ' ' 

"Do  you  really  believe  it?"  asked  Nicholas,  knowing 
that  Rosen  had  embarked  on  a  subject  that  was  a  fixed 
idea  with  most  Germans. 

"I  know  it  to  be  true.  I  have  every  proof,"  said 
Rosen  angrily.  "Their  grand  surveyor,  Willcocks, 
while  pretending  to  study  the  matter  of  irrigation  was 


i42        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

making  plans  all  the  time  to  send  home  to  his  govern- 
ment. You  would  be  amazed  to  hear  how  many  secret 
treaties  he  made  with  Arab  sheikhs  of  Mesopotamia. 
Luckily  the  Arabs  are  true  only  to  the  highest  bidder 
for  their  favors,  though  if  ever  the  English  manage  by 
luck  or  treachery  to  get  within  measurable  distance  of 
Bagdad  you  will  see  how  they  will  tempt  and  impose 
upon  those  same  ignorant  folk. 

"Then  the  only  remedy  is  for  Germany  to  hold  Bag- 
dad, Basra,  and  the  Persian  Gulf." 

"This  is  as  vital  to  Turkey  as  to  ourselves,  otherwise 
the  gates  of  the  East  are  closed  for  both.  If  England 
attempts  to  enter  Mesopotamia  she  must  be  thoroughly 
beaten,  for  if  her  army  united  with  that  of  Egypt, 
Turkey  would  be  cut  off  from  Arabia.  Syria  would  go 
next  and  England's  cursed  power  would  be  stronger 
than  ever." 

He  spoke  with  peculiar  bitterness  for  reasons  fully 
understood  by  Nicholas  Severin.  Irrigation  works  on 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  at  a  cost  of  two  millions  had 
been  put  up  for  Turkey  by  a  famous  English  engineer 
and  his  staff.  This  was  another  fruitful  source  of  anger 
and  discontent  to  the  Germans,  and  very  soon  through 
these  masters  of  Turkey  the  British  engineer-in-chief, 
Mr.  Arthur  Whitley,  was  to  become  a  prisoner  of  war 
in  spite  of  his  excellent  relations  with  Enver  Pasha 
himself. 

"That  would  also  mean  the  end  of  German  power  in 
the  East,"  said  Mme.  Severin,  slowly. 

"Never!"  exclaimed  Rosen  with  violence,  rising  sud- 
denly from  his  seat.  "Germany  can  never  be  beaten." 

"Don't  go  yet,  Otto!  The  tea  is  ready,"  cried  Mme. 
Severin  as  Veronica,  who  had  been  busying  herself  at  a 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        '143 

side  table  over  a  samovar,  suddenly  turned  round  with 
a  tray  in  her  hand.  "Serve  Herr  Rosen  first,  my 
child!" 

Veronica  came  silently  to  him.  He  noticed  that  she 
was  paler  than  usual,  and  how  dark  semi-circles  under 
her  eyes,  in  which  burned  a  wistful  fire,  gave  her  a 
delicate  look  to  which  he  was  unaccustomed.  Was  she 
fretting  about  this  objectionable  Englishman?  Impos- 
sible !  He  remembered  how  she  had  spoken  of  war.  It 
was  the  sense  of  all  it  involved  that  was  depressing  her 
feminine  nature. 

"I  am  going  to  Damascus  myself  the  end  of  the 
week,"  he  said  in  a  confidential  voice,  taking  a  glass  of 
the  lemon  scented  tea.  ''You  shall  hear  the  result  di- 
rectly I  return." 

"Do  you  hear,  mamouschka?"  she  called  with  quick 
animation.  "Herr  Rosen  says  he  is  going  to 
Damascus. ' ' 

"  Is  it  possible  to  convey  a  message  through  you  to  my 
brother-in-law?"  asked  Nicholas. 

"I  might  manage  a  written  one  provided  you  show 
me  the  contents,"  said  Rosen  affably.  "Let  me  have  it 
to-morrow  some  time.  I  will  see  what  I  can  do." 

He  started  to  take  leave  and  as  he  spoke  pressed 
Veronica's  hand  reassuringly.  It  was  easy  to  yield  a 
point  when  for  reward  he  saw  how  it  brought  back  a 
tinge  of  rose  to  her  cheeks  and  light  to  her  eyes. 

Pastor  Kasbarian's  glance,  somber  and  fierce,  watched 
him  leave  the  room  with  Nicholas. 

"I  do  not  like  the  German,  cousin  Anna,"  he  said, 
morosely.  "I  foresee  that  you  will  regret  you  ever  let 
him  enter  your  house.  He  is  a  man  with  a  narrow  eye." 

' '  The  war  has  changed  him.     He  is  no  longer  the  same. 


144        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

This  is  the  first  time  he  has  brought  in  the  Armenian 
question,"  she  said,  with  a  troubled  look  at  Veronica, 
whose  eyes  agreed  with  the  cousin's  verdict,  "but  he  was 
never  careful  in  weighing  his  words. ? ' 

"He  should  have  gone  one  step  further  and  stated  that 
all  our  young  men  are  being  enrolled  by  the  Turks,"  he 
said.  "Of  what  use  will  the  old  be  to  protect  women 
and  children?" 

"Heaven  forbid  that  it  will  be  necessary,"  said  Mme. 
Severin,  hastily.  "To-day  we  are  all  in  one  boat. 
Surely  we  shall  sink  or  swim  together,  Turk  and  Ar- 
menian alike." 

After  mother  and  daughter  went  to  bed  Nicholas  and 
their  visitor  sat  talking  earnestly  far  into  the  night. 
They  arranged  that  the  family's  next  holiday  should  be 
spent  under  Pastor  Kasbarian's  roof  in  a  prosperous 
village  on  a  hill  slope  commanding  a  view  of  the 
Mediterranean. 

"The  sea  air  will  be  good  for  Zia,"  said  Mme.  Severin 
next  day,  "and  we  shall  be  within  easy  reach  of 
Nicholas. ' ' 

"If  he  is  still  here,"  said  Veronica,  significantly. 

Three  weeks  elapsed  before  Rosen  returned  with 
startling  news  from  Damascus.  John  Culver  had 
escaped  from  prison.  How  and  when  was  not  actually 
established.  The  Severins  doubted  the  good  faith  of 
Rosen 's  informant,  fearing  that  something  sinister  lay  at 
the  back  of  the  communication.  Possibilities  of  death, 
treachery,  torture,  privation  and  other  details  of  Oriental 
ill  treatment  often  suffered  in  the  public  prison  passed 
through  their  minds.  Their  one  hope  lay  in  Rosen's  re- 
minder of  the  official  orders  touching  British  prisoners. 
Not  that  he  cared  a  jot  beyond  desiring  to  pose  in  a 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        145 

cloak  of  high-minded  benevolence  in  the  eyes  of  Veronica. 

He  said  something  privately  to  her  that  suggested  he 
himself  had  lent  a  hand  to  John's  escape.  She  taxed 
him  with  it,  throwing  a  warmth  into  her  voice  and  glance 
that  smothered  his  first  impulse  of  repudiation.  He 
shrugged  his  shoulders  with  an  affected  carelessness. 

"Indirectly  it  is  possible  to  act  at  times,  but  only  in 
the  strictest  secrecy.  All  traces  must  be  covered,"  he 
said,  mysteriously. 

She  looked  at  him,  summing  him  up,  doubting  and  half 
convinced.  He  could  not  be  altogether  bad  if  he  had 
really  done  this. 

"Do  good  and  throw  it  in  the  sea,"  she  replied,  quoting 
an  Arab  proverb,  "for  if  the  fish  do  not  know  it  Allah 
will." 

"I  said  I  would  do  my  best.  One  can't  do  more,"  he 
said,  his  fingers  busy  at  his  mustache. 

With  a  flash  of  insight  she  detected  his  insincerity. 
Yet  she  deemed  it  politic  still  to  stimulate  belief,  with  the 
result  that  he  left  highly  pleased  with  his  diplomatic 
stroke. 

On  the  other  hand  he  foresaw  trouble  lying  ahead 
through  his  intimacy  with  the  Severin  family.  In  ad- 
dition to  their  local  standing  of  well-to-do  Armenians 
of  European  upbringing,  they  possessed  an  English1 
relative,  were  friendly  in  heart  to  the  French,  and  there 
were  the  Russian  connections  of  Mme.  Severin  her- 
self. Once  Veronica  was  his  wife,  and  he  now  saw 
every  chance  of  winning  to  the  heart  of  her,  all  these 
annoying  links  with  Germany's  enemies  should  be 
snapped.  He  would  have  none  of  them. 

Later  in  his  office  he  threw  up  his  head  and  laughed 
maliciously.  The  scene  of  a  prison  court  he  had  wit- 


146       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

nessed  secretly  with  a  Damascus  official  had  suddenly 
come  back  to  his  mind.  While  scrutinizing  Turkey's 
interned  enemies  to  discover  John  Culver  among  them  it 
had  given  him  rare  satisfaction  to  view  those  boastful 
knights  of  the  daily  tub,  the  finnikin  Englishmen,  set  in 
that  unsavory  revolting  milieu.  As  one  of  the  standard 
bearers  of  Teutonic  "kultur"  into  foreign  lands  it  had 
always  been  the  English  more  than  any  other  race  that 
had  inflamed  to  burning  point  his  feeling  of  bitter  envy — 
that  Neid — which  is  a  leading  trait  of  modern  Germany. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

TO  Veronica  the  winter  seemed  interminably  long. 
Especially  the  days  dragged  when  imagination 
keyed  to  suspense  waited  for  news  to  percolate  through 
the  rigorous  censorship  of  telegrams  from  Europe,  and 
the  horizon  of  life  seemed  no  further  away  than  the 
nearest  roof  top.  There  were  drab  leaden  days  when 
her  heart,  feeding  on  torpid  hopes,  grew  sick  with  un- 
utterable longing,  when  the  stagnation  of  all  other  in- 
terests clogged  energy,  and  despair  dulled  mistily  every 
outlook  on  the  future. 

And  always  there  came  to  torment  and  excite  by  turn 
recollection  of  Pierre's  confidence  in  a  speedy  return. 
She  never  passed  through  the  bazaars  without  scanning 
the  passers-by  while  recalling  his  words  to  Nicholas. 

"I  guarantee  the  next  time  we  run  across  each  other 
as  to-day  you  will  pass  me  without  the  least  recognition. ' ' 

But  she  would  certainly  know  him  under  any  guise. 
On  that  score  she  had  no  doubts.  Yet  there  were  other 
ways.  At  whatever  hour  through  the  winter  she  climbed 
to  the  roof  terrace  to  scatter  morsels  of  bread  as  was  her 
custom,  and  watched  the  sea  birds,  invisible  the  minute 
before,  instantly  descend  and  fly  around,  she  thought  of 
the  French  aviators  who  had  flown  only  a  year  ago  from 
Nancy  to  Cairo  by  way  of  Asia  Minor  and  Syria. 

For  a  week  in  advance  Dancourt,  the  first  of  the 
aviators,  had  been  daily  expected,  news  of  the  famous 
trial  flight  having  traveled  swiftly  ahead.  When  first 


148        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

seen  on  the  horizon  above  the  hills  she  remembered  the 
great  cries  that  had  ascended  from  the  watching  crowds, 
and  how  quickly  their  wonder  and  admiration  at  the 
sight  had  turned  to  silence  mixed  with  terror  as  the 
great  blue  bird,  coming,  nearing  and  swooping  low  with 
a  magnificent  curve,  seemed  momentarily  to  hover  over 
the  thronged  roofs  before  taking  fresh  flight  into  the 
blue.  Later  in  the  year  a  second  aviator  had  appeared, 
and  then  a  third,  all  from  France.  The  impression 
created  on  the  Eastern  mind  by  these  miraculous  fliers 
had  been  indescribable,  for  they  were  the  first  to  appear 
or  to  be  seen  at  all  in  that  corner  of  the  world. 

Veronica  thrilled  ever  at  the  memory.  To  her  it  had 
become  a  symbol  of  the  great  love  which  had  come  to  her 
from  France.  She  even  had  wild  ideas  that  perhaps 
Pierre  might  return  on  wings  through  the  air  like 
another  Perseus.  It  would  be  a  real  rescue,  for  Rosen's 
persistency  was  getting  beyond  bounds.  Long  ago  she 
would  have  dared  the  consequences  of  open  rupture  but 
for  the  caution  advised  by  her  mother  and  insisted  upon 
by  Nicholas.  Even  so  the  man  must  have  opaque  scales 
on  his  eyes  not  to  be  aware  of  the  repugnance  he  in- 
stilled in  her  for  she  could  not  always  succeed  in  hid- 
ing it. 

At  all  times  Rosen  was  a  barometer  showing  every; 
variation  of  military  and  naval  conflict.  If  these  were 
of  German  origin  his  mood  was  not  only  set  fair  but 
overwrought.  His  skeptical  attitude  was  very  signifi- 
cant when  questioned  upon  adverse  reports  from  the 
Caucasus,  of  havoc  and  terror  in  Palestine,  and  famine 
in  the  Lebanon.  That  lies  and  fraud  concealed  grave 
trouble,  hushed  up,  yet  alive,  in  many  quarters  of  Turkey 
in  Asia,  was  proved  by  secret  evidence  of  travelers,  both 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        149 

native  and  neutral,  whose  difficulties  grew  week  by  week. 

To  rumors  current  in  the  bazaars  and  khans  of  the 
town,  and  fairly  in  touch  with  actual  fact,  there  was 
always  the  insiduous  counterblast  circulated  by  Ger- 
many's native  agents. 

' '  A  Russian  victory  in  the  Caucasus ! ' ' 

" Armenians  helped  to  win  it,"  buzzed  in  ominous 
reply. 

''The  British  have  cast  the  Khedive  out  of  Egypt  and 
set  up  a  new  sultan. 

"They  have  done  this  because  Abbas  Helmi  was  a 
friend  of  the  German  Emperor,  who  is  a  true  father  to 
Islam." 

"What  do  the  Moslem  Egyptians  say  to  this  strange 
action?" 

' '  As  the  new  Sultan  is  also  a  son  of  Mahomet  it  pleases 
them  to  forget  that  the  British  have  stolen  the  treasures 
and  rich  valleys  of  Egypt." 

' '  Allah  is  good !  The  world  changes ! ' '  was  the  pious 
comment. 

"But  to  what  advantage  if  free  men  are  in  this  way 
to  be  made  the  slaves  of  infidels?" 

To  Veronica's  relief  it  was  always  England  and  not 
France  that  inflamed  Rosen's  chief  animosity.  The 
hoisting  of  the  Union  Jack  at  Basra  by  British  troops 
from  India  had  been  a  bitter  pill  to  swallow.  Until 
doubly  confirmed  he  paid  no  heed  to  the  declared  dis- 
aster to  German  cruisers  off  the  Falkland  Islands. 

' '  Wait ! "  he  said,  grimly.  ' '  Antwerp  is  ours.  It  will 
be  London's  turn  soon.  Even  now  we  are  preparing 
another  blow  at  the  heart  of  England,  one  she  little 
expects." 

Shortly  he  brought  them  German  newspapers  to  read, 


150        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

revealing  the  meaning  of  these  mysterious  hints.  Whole 
columns  were  devoted  to  the  coming  invasion  of  Egypt. 
All  was  set  down  in  detail.  The  military  preparations 
at  military  centers  such  as  Damascus,  Aleppo  and  par- 
ticularly Jerusalem,  into  which  city  were  pouring  en- 
thusiastic deputations  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 
The  route  across  the  desert  of  Sinai,  the  Bedouin  hover- 
ing like  locusts  to  the  east  of  Suez,  all  was  described. 
Over  against  all  this  was  painted  the  seething  anxiety  of 
hard  pressed  British  officials,  military  and  civil. 

"Remarkable!  Incredible!"  ejaculated  Mme.  Severin, 
for  once  heedless  of  Rosen's  susceptibilities.  "Never 
once  have  I  been  in  any  part  of  Syria  without  hearing 
the  praises  of  the  English  sung  on  all  sides,  and  the 
people's  outspoken  wish  for  the  same  British  rule  that 
existed  in  Egypt.  What  has  brought  this  change  of 
heart?  Is  it  secret  intrigue  of  Turkey,  or  your  own 
country?" 

"Intrigue?"  he  repeated.  "Of  course!  It  is  the 
only  way.  Without  intrigue  who  and  what  can  ever 
appeal  to  the  Oriental  mind?  And  why,  I  should  like 
to  know,  should  we  abstain  from  what  gained  India  for 
England?" 

"It  is  the  preaching  of  the  Jehad  alone  which  has 
made  this  possible,"  she  said  severely.  "It  is  a  terrible 
weapon  to  forge." 

Otto  Rosen  laughed,  a  laugh  for  which  Veronica's 
eyes  flashed  fire  at  him. 

"The  end  has  not  yet  come,"  he  said  ambiguously, 
"and  scarcely  the  beginning.  Wait  till  the  Holy  Flag 
gets  to  Jerusalem.  It  is  on  its  way." 

"The  Holy  Flag!"  exclaimed  the  listening  woman. 

"Yes!    To  accompany  the  army  to  the  battlefields  of 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        151 

Egypt,  the  first  time  for  four  hundred  years,"  he  said, 
triumphantly.  "Is  there  a  Mussulman  anywhere  that 
will  not  be  drawn  by  the  magic  of  that  blood  red  banner 
to  fight  in  our  ranks?  Arab,  Bedouin,  Indian,  even 
Egyptian  will  all  come.  The  Eastern  question  is  about 
to  be  settled  once  more  and  forever.  We  are  on  the 
eve  of  great  events." 

But  all  this  fine  talk  and  other  endless  gossip  still  kept 
the  actual  reality  of  war  at  a  distance  till  something  sud- 
denly occurred  to  drive  it  home  to  their  very  threshold. 

One  evening  Amina  burst  in  upon  the  family,  weeping, 
breathless  and  talking  excitedly. 

"Murad  is  here.     He  is  weary  of  barracks,"  she  said. 

"Heavens!  What  does  it  mean?"  exclaimed  Mine. 
Severin,  turning  to  her  son. 

"That  he  has  deserted  I  fear.  I  will  go  and  see,"  he 
.said,  hastily,  leaving  the  room. 

So  it  turned  out.  Talked  to  and  advised  by  the  whole 
family  in  every  possible  way  Murad  was  at  last  per- 
suaded that  his  best  and  only  chance  of  pardon  lay  in 
giving  himself  up  to  the  military  authorities.  He  stayed 
the  night  in  the  house  and  went  out  early  in  the  morning. 

"Malaish!  No  matter!"  he  ejaculated  in  response  to 
Amina 's  tears. 

Later  on  a  soldier  contrived  to  slip  round  to  the 
hospital  to  divulge  secretly  that  his  comrade  was  in 
danger  of  his  life.  For  there  was  to  be  a  court  martial. 
So  many  desertions  were  taking  place  all  the  time.  As 
a  rule  the  men  did  not  return,  but  joined  the  gangs  of 
highwaymen  infesting  the  country  round.  Murad  was 
to  provide  an  example. 

Could  he  be  saved?  If  so  only  by  urgent  action. 
Nicholas  Severin  set  his  teeth  determinedly,  for  to  him 


152       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

personally  no  good  could  come  of  interference.  On  the 
contrary,  he  might  be  held  responsible  for  sheltering  a 
deserter  for  the  night  under  his  roof  even  though  an 
old  servant. 

He  went  to  the  Wali  with  whom  as  a  hakim,  the  most 
discreet  and  successful,  his  intimacy  gave  him  weight. 
The  Wali  amiably  referred  him  to  Ahmed  Pasha  as  if 
relieved  to  shift  the  affair  to  other  shoulders. 

At  the  Serai  he  expected  to  wait  long  before  obtaining 
an  audience.  To  his  surprise  the  commandant  saw  him 
without  any  delay,  though  never  had  the  forecourt, 
arcades  and  ante-chamber  been  more  thronged  with! 
officers,  soldiers  and  attendants  of  all  kinds. 

The  customary  salutations  over  the  Pasha  of  his  own 
accord  graciously  alluded  to  the  occasions  on  which  they 
had  met  before,  in  the  hospital  and  again  in  the  moun- 
tain hotel. 

"What  affair  is  it  that  brings  us  together  here, 
cffendi?"  he  asked. 

"A  boon,  Excellency,"  replied  Nicholas,  proceeding 
to  explain  that  it  was  mercy  for  a  truant  soldier  he 
begged  because  the  man  had  been  a  faithful  servant,  and 
if  spared  might  yet  become  a  trusty  and  valiant  fighter 
for  the  Sultan. 

"Clemency  to  a  deserter  will  but  incite  others  to  do 
the  same,"  was  the  temporizing  reply. 

"Excellency,  he  did  not  realize  his  crime  nor  its 
penalty  until  I  put  both  before  him. ' ' 

The  Pasha  spoke  rapidly  with  an  officer  who  sat  beside 
him  on  the  divan,  then  his  strong  imperious  face  looked 
again  upon  Nicholas. 

"It  is  a  question  of  discipline  which  has  to  be  finally 
decided  in  Damascus.  This  however  I  will  promise  re- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT         153 

membering  your  treatment  of  a  valued  servant  of  my 
own.  I  myself  will  send  a  petition  for  the  life  of  this 
man  and  ask  that  the  answer  may  come  quickly. ' ' 

Severin,  almost  overcome  by  the  unexpected  easy  suc- 
cess of  his  prayer  for  mercy,  stammered  out  his  gratitude 
with  customary  etiquette.  Silence  had  fallen  upon  the 
officers  sitting  and  standing  round  the  room,  a  silence 
heavy  with  a  hostility  felt  to  the  full  by  the  doctor  in  the 
very  atmosphere.  He  knew  the  question  that  was  cir- 
culating from  mind  to  mind.  Why  this  condescension, 
this  favor  to  one  of  the  Armenian  race  even  though  of 
the  reputable  calling  of  hakim  ?  One  or  two  men  stand- 
ing in  the  entrance  slipped  hurriedly  away. 

Ahmed  Pasha's  gray  eyes  glanced  keenly  around  and 
back  to  Severin,  whose  attitude  though  deferential  had 
no  trace  of  servility. 

"Please  God  I  shall  be  able  to  grant  you  this  boon, 
doctor,"  he  said  in  a  clear  voice,  apparently  so  that  all 
might  hear,  touching  his  forehead  and  his  breast  cour- 
teously as  Severin  withdrew. 

All  the  same  Nicholas  had  so  little  faith  in  Turkish  or 
any  Moslem  "Inshallahs"  that  he  was  a  little  suspicious 
of  the  promise  made  by  His  Excellency  the  commandant. 
With  reason  too  it  seemed  when  it  leaked  out,  soon  to  be 
talked  of  excitedly  in  every  cafe  of  Opella,  that  the  Ger- 
man officer  in  joint  command  with  Ahmed  Pasha  still  in- 
sisted upon  a  court  martial  and  justice  being  ad- 
ministered to  the  deserter. 

Severin  hurried  off  to  Kosen,  who  flatly  refused  to  in- 
tervene. "Discipline  is  discipline,  my  good  doctor,"  he 
exclaimed,  testily.  ' '  No,  it  is  not  a  question  of  brutality 
and  intolerance,  nothing  of  the  kind.  Be  careful  what 
you  say!  It  is  solely  the  necessity  of  making  an  ex- 


154       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

ample.  Overlook  one  and  hundreds  would  take  a  similar 
liberty  believing  they  would  be  condoned." 

To  the  horror  of  the  Severin  family  Murad  was  con- 
demned to  death.  Soon  it  leaked  out  that  a  row  of  eight 
soldiers  had  been  drawn  up  to  fire  at  him,  while  by  order 
of  the  German  C.  0.  another  row  had  stood  ready  to  fire 
at  the  eight  in  front  should  they  refuse  to  shoot.  To 
this  extent  had  German  discipline  strengthened  defiance 
among  the  badly  treated  troops  who  were  already  mu- 
tinous. 

Before  sunset  that  same  day  a  free  pardon  for  poor 
Murad  came  through  by  wire  from  headquarters  at 
Damascus,  where  the  military  prestige  of  Ahmed  Pasha 
was  fully  understood.  Public  opinion  was  enraged. 
Nothing  was  talked  about  but  the  brutal  behavior  of 
the  German  officer  and  the  Pasha's  anger.  Was  it  pos- 
sible for  both  to  remain  in  command  together?  Evi- 
dently not  for  it  turned  out  that  just  such  a  martinet 
was  badly  needed  at  Jerusalem,  headquarters  for  the 
army  to  operate  against  Egypt. 

A  fresh  high  officer  and  staff  were  quickly  sent  on 
from  Constantinople  to  manipulate  the  German  thumb- 
screws in  Opella  with  more  tact  than  the  predecessor. 
Draft  after  draft  of  soldiers  were  sent  south  as  soon  as 
ready.  Soon  these  were  followed  by  thousands  of  work- 
men employed  on  the  Bagdad  railway. 

To  take  the  place  of  these  last  in  making  necessary 
roads  and  fortifications  orders  were  given  for  the  special 
formation  of  battalions  of  Armenians  all  of  military  age. 
In  spite  of  care  taken  in  the  collection  of  these  labor 
troops  a  great  many  young  men  happily  contrived  to 
escape  and  slip  through  the  net. 

Nicholas  Severin  kept  back  much  that  he  heard  from 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        155 

his  mother,  and  of  what  she  did  not  know  Veronica  was 
ignorant.  The  hospital  was  full  to  overflowing.  Sick- 
ness was  rife  among  the  troops.  Many  wounded  had 
been  brought  through,  but  difficulties  of  transport  raised 
the  question  of  shifting  the  whole  medical  staff  wher- 
ever most  needed.  A  time  came  when  Dr.  Severin  daily 
expected  marching  orders.  He  had  already  received 
orders  to  hold  himself  in  readiness. 

During  days  that  followed  his  apprehensions  deepened. 
Not  for  himself  but  those  whom  he  would  leave  alone. 
If  only  that  foolish  girl  Veronica  had  fallen  in  love  with 
Otto  Rosen  instead  of  Marson  all  would  have  been  well, 
for  whatever  Rosen  might  lack  as  a  brother-in-law,  to 
Veronica  he  was  certainly  devoted. 

But  since  Murad's  execution  matters  were  terribly 
strained.  Veronica  had  called  it  murder  to  Rosen 's  face 
and  accused  him  of  being  as  bad  as  an  accomplice.  Rosen 
had  turned  upon  her  in  fierce  resentment  and  not  been 
near  the  house  since. 

Sinister  rumors  were  afloat.  Native  raconteurs  had 
wonderful  stories  to  relate,  inspired  no  doubt  by  German 
invention.  One  glaring  example  was  to  the  effect  that 
England  had  succeeded  in  stealing  the  bones  of  the 
Prophet  and  it  was  to  recover  these  sacred  relics  for 
Islam  that  Germany  had  gone  to  war  with  her. 

"How  the  Germans  must  laugh  at  their  dupes,"  said 
Anna  Severin,  relating  this  titbit  of  gossip  brought  fresh 
by  Amina  from  a  shopping  expedition.  ''She  says  she 
is  certain  she  saw  Ali.  They  came  suddenly  face  to  face, 
but  before  she  could  speak  or  hold  him  he  had  slipped  be- 
hind a  camel  blocking  the  way.  Though  muffled  to  the 
eyes  she  was  sure  it  was  Ali." 

"He  would  run  a  great  risk  in  speaking  to  her  in 


156       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

public.  If  it  was  Ali  he  will  find  a  way  of  coming  here, ' ' 
said  Nicholas.  "That  story  is  simply  circulated  to 
counterbalance  the  effect  of  the  bad  news  about  the 
Egyptian  expedition." 

For  in  spite  of  banquets  of  rejoicing  held  to  celebrate 
the  success  of  Turkish  arms,  and  the  posters  printed  in 
letters  of  gold  giving  glowing  accounts  of  a  great  victory 
over  English  arms,  of  the  capture  of  Suez  and  Ismailia, 
and  the  sinking  of  British  cruisers  in  the  Canal,  and  all 
at  the  cost  of  very  few  lives  and  wounded,  the  news  was 
slowly  coming  through  even  as  far  north  as  Opella  that 
there  had  been  a  disastrous  and  definite  defeat. 

A  day  later  the  official  summons  anticipated  by 
Nicholas  called  him  away  from  the  hospital.  When  he 
returned  close  upon  sunset  his  dark  face,  though  nor- 
mally impassive  like  most  men  with  a  tang  of  the  Orient 
in  their  blood,  showed  under  the  red  fez  a  curiously 
anxious  look. 

As  a  rule  the  gateway  and  forecourt  were  beset  at 
this  hour  by  a  crowd  of  sick  people  of  the  poorest  de- 
scription for  whom  the  doctor  daily  prescribed.  To-day 
the  doorkeeper  had  packed  all  off  peremptorily,  declar- 
ing that  nobody  could  be  seen  and  nothing  done  till  the 
morrow. 

One  man  alone  had  proved  obstinate,  stealthily  re- 
turning to  squat  by  the  wall  every  time  the  doorkeeper 
withdrew.  When  Nicholas  put  his  hand  to  the  wicket 
door  of  the  big  gateway  this  figure  suddenly  rose  beside 
him.  From  the  folds  of  an  abbai  and  closely  swathed; 
keffiyeh  there  emerged  a  muffled  voice. 

"Mercy,  el  hakim,  effendi!    A  boon!" 

"What!  Thou  insolent  dog!  Thou  darest  still  to 
obtrude  when  thrice  I  have  bidden  thee  begone  and 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        157 

driven  thee  forth ! ' '  stormed  the  doorkeeper,  suddenly 
appearing  and  fearing  a  reprimand. 

"No  matter,  Selim,  now  I  am  here.  It  is  better  to 
send  him  away  satisfied  than  that  he  should  continue  to 
annoy,"  said  the  doctor  indifferently.  Then  turning  to 
the  Arab  he  said,  ' '  Follow  me ! " 

While  Selim  grumbled  angrily  to  himself  by  the  gate 
the  offender  shuffled  humbly  across  the  court  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  benefactor  to  a  tiled  hall  under  the 
arcade  lined  with  stone  benches.  Nicholas  turned  to 
scrutinize  his  patient  at  close  quarters. 

"Well,  Ali,  you  have  come  at  last,"  he  said  in  a  low 
voice.  "With  good  news  or  evil!  Be  on  your  guard! 
There  are  tale-bearers  about." 

The  man  stood  silent  for  a  moment  looking  cautiously 
around.  "Is  there  an  inner  room?"  he  mumbled. 

"Come!"  said  Nicholas  briefly,  with  a  gesture 
towards  a  door  at  the  side  of  the  room  which  opened 
into  a  dispensary  connecting  by  a  few  steps  and  a  second 
door  with  the  doctor's  official  private  room.  These 
were  screened  by  a  wooden  partition  cutting  off  the 
lower  end  of  the  dispensary. 

'  *  Is  that  you,  Nicholas  ? ' '  said  a  woman 's  voice  behind 
the  screen.  "I  have  nearly  finished  making  up  the  last 
prescription. ' ' 

The  Arab  started.  His  stooping  figure  covered  with 
dust  suddenly  shot  upright  as  he  began  to  fumble  with 
the  folds  of  his  keffiyeh.  With  a  peremptory  gesture 
Nicholas  imposed  silence  and  stillness  upon  his  visitor 
and  went  for  a  moment  out  of  sight. 

"Leave  it!"  he  whispered  in  his  sister's  ear.  "Go 
at  once  and  wait  for  me  in  my  room.  Quick,  Veron- 
ica!" 


158        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

He  turned  back  and  again  faced  the  Arab.  ''It  is  not 
Ali.  Who  are  you?"  he  said  sternly  with  the  suspicion 
of  one  who  anticipates  a  snare. 

The  Arab  glanced  at  the  door  behind,  fastened  it  and 
then  showed  his  face. 

"It  is  I,  my  friend,  Pierre  Marson!  Did  I  not  say 
you  would  fail  to  recognize  me  next  time  we  met?" 

The  revelation  was  a  blow  for  Nicholas.  For  the 
moment  dismay,  apprehension,  and  his  knowledge  of 
pending  difficulties  made  him  speechless.  He  stared 
at  Pierre,  loath  either  to  declare  him  welcome  or  to  de- 
nounce the  reckless  hazard  of  his  visit  for  both  of  them. 
He  rejoiced  that  Veronica  was  out  of  hearing. 

' '  I  don 't  think  you  are  best  pleased  to  see  me,  doctor, ' ' 
said  Pierre,  "and  but  for  personal  reasons  and  intense 
fear  for  your  family  I  would  have  given  Opella  a  wide 
berth  on  this  secret  journey  of  mine.  I  have  many  dis- 
closures to  make.  Is  this  a  fitting  place  in  which  to 
discuss  them?  You  must  not  take  risks,"  he  said  with 
an  eager  intense  look  towards  the  screen. 

"I  have  taken  none,"  said  Nicholas,  shortly.  "Ver- 
onica has  already  left  by  another  door.  It  is  certain  that 
you  must  not  stay  in  the  hospital  more  than  a  few 
minutes  longer.  To  avoid  any  suspicion  we  must  go 
back  to  the  hall.  There  I  will  make  a  pretense  of  exam- 
ining your  foot  or  leg,  will  give  you  an  ointment  and  you 
must  leave  by  the  same  way  you  entered,  showing  your 
remedy  to  the  gatekeeper  as  you  pass. " 

"But  in  heaven's  name  what  then,  Severin?  I  am 
bound  to  see  you  again,  and  what  is  more  I  must  see 
Veronica,"  said  Marson,  firmly. 

"Come!  Muffle  your  head  again.  I  will  explain," 
said  the  doctor  hastening  to  the  door. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT         159 

Marson  gave  a  longing  glance  towards  the  screen 
before  he  followed.  The  outer  room  was  still  empty. 
Doctor  Severin  seated  his  pseudo-patient  in  full  view  of 
the  entrance  on  one  of  the  stone  benches,  and  raising  his 
foot  began  to  speak  in  a  low  rapid  voice. 

"You  have  come  at  a  critical  hour.  I  have  only  just 
come  back  from  army  medical  head-quarters  of  the  dis- 
trict. This  hospital  is  to  be  partially  closed  and  then 
put  in  charge  of  native  dabblers  in  medicine.  I,  myself, 
with  my  whole  staff  am  under  orders  to  leave  for  Mosul 
in  three  days." 

"For  what  object?    Did  they  tell  you?" 

"Probably  to  take  charge  of  a  military  hospital." 

"I  hope  so,"  said  Marson,  shortly,  "but  be  on  your 
utmost  guard.  Sinister  plans  are  in  the  making. 
Believe  nothing,  and  test  everything  before  running  your 
head  into  a  net.  Have  you  a  friend  in  high  quarters 
who  will  take  you  under  his  special  protection?" 

"For  myself  nothing  matters.  It  is  for  my  family 
that  I  am  anxious." 

"Naturally!  It  is  impossible  for  them  to  remain  in 
Opella  without  you. ' ' 

"I  have  decided  to  send  them  at  once  to  a  relative's 
house  near  Antioch, ' '  said  Nicholas,  curtly.  ' '  They  will 
be  as  safe  there  as  anywhere  till  the  war  is  ended. ' ' 

' '  Ended !  It  is  only  just  beginning,  and  the  climax  is 
still  far  ahead.  Tell  me  how  and  when  I  can  come  to 
your  house. ' ' 

Nicholas  explained  how  following  the  way  of  the 
wall  outside  the  gate  Marson  would  turn  the  corner 
sharply  into  a  narrow  lonely  lane.  The  first  small  strong 
door  was  the  back  entrance  to  the  doctor's  private  house, 
"When  dark  the  door  would  be  opened  to  him. 


160       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

A  few  minutes  later  a  gratified  Arab,  to  all  appear- 
ance tottering  and  decrepit,  passed  through  the  gate 
showing  his  ointment  with  triumph  to  the  porter,  and 
muttering  "Inshallahs"  and  other  blessings  for  every 
curse  the  man  called  after  him. 

Nicholas  found  Veronica  flushed  and  expectant,  sitting 
stiff  and  straight  in  a  chair  and  staring  towards  the  door. 
She  was  utterly  in  the  dark  as  to  what  had  occurred,  only 
knowing  that  it  was  something  unusual  to  call  up  the  per- 
emptory tone  and  tense  look  of  her  brother. 

He  explained  how  an  Arab  had  waylaid  him  at  the 
gate,  and  that  thinking  it  was  Ali  he  had  brought  him  in. 

"But  I  soon  discovered  it  was  not  Ali  at  all  and  hear- 
ing your  voice  I  took  no  chance  of  your  being  mixed  up 
in  any  other  affair,"  he  said. 

"Then  who  was  it?"  she  asked  quickly,  divining  a 
mystery  he  meant  to  clear  up,  "but  I  know,"  she  con- 
tinued breathlessly,  a  great  light  bursting  upon  her, 
"it  was  Pierre!  Where  is  he?  Let  me  go  to  him!" 
she  darted  to  the  door. 

He  caught  her  by  the  hand  pulling  her  to  a  standstill. 

' '  He  is  not  there.  How  right  I  was  to  send  you  away ! 
You  have  too  little  self  control.  Is  that  the  way  to  act 
when  his  life  and  freedom  are  at  stake,  and  who  knows 
how  much  more?"  he  said  in  a  low,  angered  voice. 

Veronica  shrank  back  and  dropped  into  her  chair. 

"You  are  cruel,"  she  gasped.  "You  have  not  let 
him  go  without  once  letting  us  meet?  Have  you  never 
loved  with  every  breath  of  your  body,  and  your  whole 
heart  and  soul?  Can't  you  understand  what  you  make 
me  suffer?" 

"He  is  coming  to  the  house.  Be  at  ease!  You  will 
see  him,"  said  Nicholas,  "though  should  the  fact  creep 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        161 

out  it  will  mean  our  doom.  There,  there,  little  sister,  I 
know  all  about  it.  Solely  on  that  account  and  no  other 
I  have  taken  the  risk." 

As  he  bent  over  to  caress  her  she  flung  her  arms 
round  his  neck  and  kissed  him. 

"I  am  so  happy,"  she  whispered. 

Nicholas  was  silent  though  his  heart  ached  for  her, 
and  for  all  he  had  to  make  known  to  his  mother  before 
the  day  was  finished. 

"Without  further  delay  he  went  out  of  the  room  to  com- 
plete his  duties,  while  Veronica  went  home  through  the 
garden  and  broke  the  news  to  her  mother.  This  time 
it  was  no  question  of  a  family  meal  with  their  guest. 
In  secret  he  must  enter,  and  in  secret  depart.  Not 
even  Amina  must  have  an  inkling  of  the  Arab's  identity 
beyond  knowing  he  had  come  with  an  important  message 
for  her  master,  who  must  not  be  disturbed  when  they 
were  talking  together. 

Ainina  's  gaze  followed  the  doctor  and  his  humble  caller 
as  they  passed  through  the  kitchen  courtyard  into  the 
passage  leading  to  the  house.  Bitter  had  been  her  feel- 
ings against  the  powers  that  ruled  in  war  time  since 
Murad's  death.  Her  loyalty  to  the  Severin  family  was 
an  ingrained  habit  of  mind.  It  was  merely  fear  of  her 
loquacity  that  counseled  caution  on  their  part. 

"Still  a  boon,  0  hakim  most  benign!  Water  and  a 
clean  kumis  of  your  bounty,  0  gracious  one!"  mur- 
mured Pierre. 

"Both  needs  were  foreseen  and  provided  for.  You 
will  find  them  here,"  said  Nicholas,  lifting  a  curtain. 

"A  thousand  thanks!  In  ten  minutes  I  shall  be 
ready. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ROSEN'S  opportunity  had  come,  the  opportunity 
which  he  had  impatiently  anticipated.  With  cun- 
ning precision  he  had  calculated  that  the  hour  of  Nicho- 
las Severin's  summons  to  the  fighting  zone  would  render 
the  assurance  of  his,  Rosen's,  friendly  protection  an  in- 
dispensable solvent  to  the  doctor's  anxiety  about  his 
family. 

This  hour  had  struck.  Rosen,  certain  of  a  strong  posi- 
tion was  in  a  fever  to  test  its  possibilities.  Should  he 
wait  to  be  asked  the  desired  favor?  It  would  create  a 
better  impression  on  Veronica  if,  ignoring  her  recent 
outrageous  attack  on  him,  he  came  forward  voluntarily 
with  a  magnanimous  renewal  of  friendship,  and  a  guar- 
antee to  watch  zealously  over  their  interests  during  the 
doctor's  absence. 

Hope  beat  a  jubilant  patter  in  his  breast  as  he  started 
to  carry  out  his  purpose  that  same  night.  Amina  nearly 
dropped  with  fright  as,  following  close  upon  the  jingle 
of  the  gate  bell,  she  heard  the  loud  shout  of  the  kawass, 
' '  Open  to  the  Consul  of  Germany ! ' ' 

She  ran  as  for  her  life  into  the  house  and  burst  without 
ceremony  into  the  lewan.  Finding  it  empty  she  darted 
into  the  small  ante-chamber  at  the  back,  then  as  hastily 
fell  back.  She  wrung  her  hands.  Here  was  a  mystifica- 
tion she  could  not  begin  to  fathom.  Her  young  mistress 
sat  on  the  divan,  while  by  her  side,  his  arm  holding  her 
close,  as  he  whispered  into  her  ear  was  the  master's 
visitor,  the  Arab !  What  ought  she  to  do  ? 

162 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        163 

"Amina!  What  are  you  doing  there?  Come  here," 
called  Mme.  Severin,  appearing  at  an  opposite  door  of 
the  lewan.  ' '  Stay  where  you  are,  Zia !  You  are  not  to 
come  out." 

"But  yes,  Meme,  I  want  to  see  Uncle  John.  I  know 
it  is  Uncle  John.  I  must  come,  I  must, ' '  called  the  child, 
still  out  of  sight  and,  evidently  from  her  voice,  in  a  state 
of  high  nervous  tension. 

"Hst,  Amina!  What  is  it?"  asked  her  mistress  anx- 
iously. 

"The  German  Consul  knocks  at  the  gate.  Am  I  to 
open?" 

' '  In  the  name  of  heaven,  no !  Wait  till  I  come  to  you 
and  don't  let  Zia  come  out  of  this  room,"  said  Mme. 
Severin,  hurrying  to  the  ante-chamber. 

' '  Veronica !  Rosen  is  at  the  gate.  Pierre  must  go  at 
once, ' '  she  said  in  a  low  voice. 

Veronica  rose  suddenly  in  strong  agitation.  For  an 
instant  she  put  her  hand  over  her  eyes,  reflecting  rapidly. 
Then  she  lifted  her  head,  outwardly  collected,  though  her 
blue  eyes  were  black  with  the  intensity  of  her  feelings. 

' '  Eeceive  him  as  usual.  I  will  take  Pierre  to  the  gate 
by  which  he  entered.  Make  any  excuse  you  like  for  me. 
I  cannot  possibly  appear  to-night." 

"Be  cautious,  cherie!  God  guide  you,  God  protect 
you  on  your  difficult  road,  my  son,"  said  Mme.  Severin, 
holding  out  her  hand,  over  which  Pierre  bowed,  kissing  it. 

"Quick!  This  way,"  said  Veronica,  burning  with 
fear  for  her  lover. 

As  the  two  figures  disappeared  into  a  side  passage 
Nicholas  Severin  hurried  into  the  lewan.  He  had  been 
holding  watch  on  the  veranda  and  had  heard  the  bell 
and  loud,  continued  knocking. 


164        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"It  is  all  right.  He  has  gone,"  said  his  mother, 
approaching  and  speaking  in  a  whisper.  Then  aloud 
she  called,  "Amina,  you  can  open  the  gate.  Beg  the 
consul's  pardon  for  keeping  him  waiting,  but  mind 
not  a  word  of  what  you  have  seen. ' ' 

"Allah  forbid!  Am  I  mejnoun?"  retorted  Amina 
warmly. 

For  once  Rosen  waited  for  admittance  with  neither  im- 
patience nor  suspicion.  On  the  contrary  he  reflected  in- 
dulgently that  the  household  wheels  might  well  be  slack 
on  this  day  of  disconcerting  news  for  the  family.  He 
could  picture  the  dismay  of  the  mother,  the  anxiety 
of  the  doctor,  and  Veronica's  disquietude  and  sym- 
pathy. 

But  all  this  unrest  would  be  calmed  by  the  faithful, 
reliable  friend  who  had  come  to  restore  confidence  to 
their  shaken  outlook.  He  was  very  pleased  with  himself 
and  his  errand.  In  fact  he  felt  gay  and  almost  buoyant 
as  he  entered  the  lewan  with  a  smiling  face. 

"You  find  us  discomposed,  Otto,  my  friend,  as  no 
doubt  you  can  well  imagine.  This  sudden  departure  of 
Nicholas  is  very  unsettling,"  said  Mme.  Severin,  speak- 
ing rapidly.  "A  thousand  regrets  you  were  kept  wait- 
ing. As  you  know  we  have  been  unable  to  get  anybody 
yet  in  Murad's  place  and  Amina  cannot  always  be  on  the 
spot  to  open  the  gate  promptly." 

At  once  she  was  conscious  that  the  utterance  of 
Murad's  name  was  a  wrong  note.  As  Rosen's  face 
stiffened  she  could  have  bitten  her  tongue  out  for  the 
slip. 

"It  was  nothing!  Nothing  at  all,  dear  Madame,"  he 
said,  making  special  effort  to  speak  affably  though  tact- 
lessly reminded  of  Veronica's  severity.  And  where  was 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        165 

she,  by  the  by,  his  look  inquired,  traveling  quickly  round 
the  room. 

"Yes,  we  have  much  to  arrange  before  I  leave,"  the 
doctor  said  gravely,  unconsciously  giving  Rosen  the  de- 
sired lead. 

"That  is  the  reason  I  am  here  to-night.  What  can 
I  do  for  you  in  your  absence  ?  Command  me  in  any  way 
and  I  will  do  my  utmost." 

"I  know  he  is  there.  Uncle  John!  Uncle  John!" 
cried  Zia,  bursting  into  the  lewan.  Left  alone  for  the 
moment  because  feigning  sleep  she  had  slipped  nimbly 
out  of  bed  and  now  stood  before  them  a  little  figure  in 
white,  her  curls  falling  over  her  face.  She  caught  sight 
of  Rosen  and  at  once  stood  stockstill,  staring  at  him. 

"You!  You!  I  don't  want  you,"  she  said,  pointing 
a  disdainful  finger.  "I  want  my  Uncle  John.  Where 
is  he?  Why  doesn't  he  come  to  me?" 

"Go  back  to  bed  this  instant,  Zia,"  said  her  father, 
sternly.  "Your  Uncle  John  has  not  been  in  the  house 
for  over  three  months." 

"Then  who  was  it?"  she  said,  obstinately.  "I  want 
to  see  him  and  ask  why  my  Uncle  John  does  not  come  and 
see  me." 

Mme.  Severin  summarily  caught  her  up  and  carried 
her  crying  and  protesting  away  from  the  lewan. 

"Zia  was  much  attached  to  her  uncle,"  said  Nicholas, 
shutting  the  door  and  producing  a  box  of  cigars,  "and 
is  always  expecting  to  see  him.  Had  I  foreseen  the  im- 
pression it  would  make  on  her  mind  to  hide  the  truth 
I  would  have  disclosed  it  at  the  beginning.  I  feared  the 
effect  on  her  health." 

"Then  you  mean  to  say  she  does  not  know  he  was 
either  interned  or  that  he  escaped  ? ' '  asked  Rosen  with  a 


166        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

mocking  smile,  for  he  had  no  belief  in  what  he  considered 
an  excuse. 

Then  he  sat  silent,  immersed  in  thought  though  appar- 
ently listening  to  Nicholas.  Mechanically  he  accepted  a 
cigar,  set  light  to  it  and  smoked  steadily. 

Detached  phrases  were  forcing  themselves  to  the  front 
of  his  mind.  "He  was  here  just  now,"  and  "then  who 
was  it  ? "  There  had  been  somebody  there  whose  identity 
was  not  revealed  to  Zia.  She  had  not  been  allowed  to 
see  him.  If  not  the  Englishman,  who  was  it  ?  Another 
Armenian  relative?  And  where  was  Veronica?  It  was 
not  possible  she  was  still  sulking. 

At  that  moment  Veronica  stood  still  and  rigid,  listen- 
ing with  every  nerve  alert,  just  inside  the  low  strong 
door  in  the  wall  she  had  closed  upon  Pierre. 

' '  Courage,  bien-aimee ! "  he  had  whispered.  This  had 
been  his  last  word  when  she  had  clung  to  him  desperately 
at  the  last.  "Courage!"  It  should  be  her  watchword 
from  now  on  to  the  end. 

What  would  be  that  end  ?  She  quivered  from  head  to 
foot,  still  listening,  overpowered  by  a  sense  of  unspeak- 
able loneliness  and  despair.  Hark!  Was  that  a  cry  in 
the  lane,  or  merely  a  call  from  the  town  beyond? 

With  a  mighty  effort  she  dragged  herself  back  to 
reality  and  slowly  crossed  the  flags  of  the  little  foliage 
overhung  quadrangle.  She  found  her  mother  seated  in 
the  kitchen  with  Zia  in  her  arms. 

"What  is  it?"  she  exclaimed,  fearing  something  sinis- 
ter. 

Zia  herself  gasped  out  the  reply,  brokenly,  self-accus- 
ingly. 

Veronica  stood  dumbfounded,  her  already  overstrained 
senses  unable  at  first  to  take  in  the  meaning  of  what 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        167 

had  happened.  Then  of  a  sudden  all  that  was  latent  in 
her  of  the  hot  passionate  Orient  boiled  up  in  anger. 
With  a  gleam  in  the  blue  of  her  eyes  as  of  flame  she  made 
a  swift  step  forward. 

"Veronica!"  called  her  mother  imperatively. 

The  girl 's  out-stretched  hands  clenched  and  dropped  to 
her  side.  "You  little  traitor!"  she  said  in  a  low  tense 
voice,  then  walked  quickly  away. 

One  idea  suddenly  developed  and  filled  her  mind. 
How  to  disarm  suspicion  from  endangering  Pierre's 
chance  of  getting  safely  out  of  the  town.  There  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  batten  down  the  anguish  of  her 
heart  and  act  a  part  for  Otto  Rosen's  benefit. 

Hastily  she  ran  to  her  room,  splashed  water  over  her 
face  and  rubbed  it  hard  to  bring  color  to  her  cheeks. 
Then  with  a  fresh  ribbon  in  her  hair  and  a  bunch  of 
roses  in  her  belt  she  went  unhesitatingly  to  make  her 
peace  with  Rosen.  For  their  last  encounter  had  been 
one  of  storm  and  recrimination. 

Nicholas  gave  her  a  keen  look  as  she  entered.  Was 
she  equal  to  the  task  that  he  instantly  divined  she  was 
undertaking?  But  Veronica  smiling  and  beautiful  with 
a  warmth  in  her  voice  that  had  failed  for  months  was 
irresistible.  The  stubborn  monosyllables  which  had 
marked  Rosen's  replies  to  the  doctor  expanded  into  a 
gracious  enquiry. 

"Thank  you,  my  head  ached  badly.  I  had  to  rest  for 
a  while,  but  when  Amina  told  me  you  were  here  I  made 
a  special  effort,"  she  said,  curling  herself  into  a  corner 
of  the  divan  as  if  still  fatigued.  "You  see  we  are  all 
worried  about  losing  Nicholas,  and  you  can  tell  us  all 
kinds  of  things  we  want  to  know.  You  are  always  better 
informed  than  all  the  bulletins." 


168        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"In  every  way  I  am  at  your  service,  Veronica,"  he 
said  in  his  formal  way,  then  with  added  warmth,  "but 
tell  me  first,  are  you  sure  you  are  better?" 

"Am  not  I  here?  That  speaks  for  itself,"  she  said, 
smiling.  "And  if  you  will  only  give  me  one  of  your 
very  own  cigarettes  my  head  will  soon  be  quite  cured. 
You  remember  my  weakness  for  them. ' ' 

Rosen's  face  was  instantly  radiant.  Producing  his 
case  with  alacrity  he  moved  to  a  seat  close  to  the  divan. 
When  Veronica,  recklessly  encouraging  him,  leaned 
forward  that  he  might  set  light  to  the  cigarette  from  a 
match  in  his  hollowed  hand  the  blood  surged  to  his  face. 
With  her  lapse  into  the  old  familiarity  his  whole  being 
leaped  alive.  Months  had  gone  by  since  she  had  made  a 
similar  request.  Their  eyes  met.  He  fancied  he  could 
read  remorse  in  the  kindly  look  she  gave  him. 

Nicholas  Severin  took  advantage  of  Eosen  's  absorption 
to  slip  out  of  the  room.  He  could  delay  no  longer  in 
giving  Zia  a  sedative,  and  it  was  imperative  to  have  a 
grave  consultation  with  his  mother.  He  groaned  in- 
wardly, thinking  how  easily  his  worst  apprehensions 
would  disappear  had  Veronica  been  able  to  respond  in 
any  shape  to  the  passion  of  this  man.  He  cursed  the  day 
that  flung  Marson  across  their  path.  Without  him  all 
would  have  been  well. 

For  the  ultimate  victory  of  German  arms  was  a  fore- 
gone conclusion  of  all  Opella.  Turkey  was  involved  up 
to  the  hilt  in  every  aim  that  moved  and  inspired  the 
Central  Powers.  One  result  alone  was  possible  in  spite 
of  local  set-backs.  The  complete  defeat  of  England  and 
France,  unless  of  course  Russia  surpassed  all  and  every 
expectation.  She  was  already  vigorously  pressing  the 
Caucasian  campaign.  They  were  close  upon  Armenia. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        169 

Armenia!  That  was  the  word  engraved  on  Nicholas 
Severin's  heart.  For  or  against,  would  be  his  people's 
weighty  problem.  On  their  decision  would  rest  the  fate, 
perhaps  the  doom,  of  the  whole  race. 

Noiseless  though  the  doctor's  exit,  Eosen  heard  the 
movement  and  turned  sharply  round.  A  look  as  of  a 
trapped  animal  came  into  Veronica's  eyes,  but  it  flashed 
in  and  out  of  them  in  an  instant.  She  had  to  play  a 
skillful  game  with  Pierre's  safety  for  stakes.  The 
courage  invoked  by  her  lover  should  not  fail ;  but  he  had 
little  thought  how  soon  it  would  be  put  to  the  test,  or  in 
what  distasteful  and  intolerable  fashion. 

"The  very  thing,"  said  Rosen,  confidentially,  "for 
before  I  talk  finally  with  Nicholas  on  matters  connected 
with  his  absence  you  and  I  have  something  to  say  to  each 
other." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Veronica,  bent  on  braving  the 
worst. 

"It  is  perfectly  true  that  I  am  better  informed  than 
the  bulletins,  and  most  fortunate  it  is  for  all  con- 
cerned," he  leaned  forward  in  his  chair,  lowering  his 
voice.  ' '  I  have  something  here  to  show  you, ' '  he  tapped 
his  chest,  ' '  which  has  given  me  great  disquietude  on  your 
account.  It  will  not  be  made  generally  known  for  a 
week  or  more. ' ' 

"My  account?"  she  queried. 

"And  your  family,"  he  added,  hastily. 

"What  is  it?" 

"In  the  light  of  what  is  bound  to  come  sooner  or 
later  there  seems  only  one  way  of  evading  all  chances  of 
danger. ' ' 

"Danger?  What  kind  of  danger?  To  us  at  home 
or  to  Nicholas?" 


i7o        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"It  may  not  be  danger  at  all,  but  only  serious  incon- 
venience. It  all  depends,  but  keep  calm,  I  beg  of  you, 
dear  Veronica.  You  have  no  cause  to  worry  personally. 
My  friends  shall  go  scot  free  of  all  likelihood  of  trouble. 
That  is  to  say,"  he  paused  weightily,  "if  they  allow  me 
the  power  to  act." 

"Speak  plainly,"  she  said,  "or  how  on  earth  can  I 
understand  what  you  mean. ' ' 

"First  give  me  your  word  that  what  I  disclose  in 
secret  you  will  hold  solemnly  secret,"  he  said,  impres- 
sively. 

"I  promise,"  she  said,  perplexed,  "but  I  warn  you  it 
would  be  wiser  to  make  Nicholas  your  confidant." 

"No!"  he  said  shortly,  drawing  a  leather  case  from 
an  inside  pocket,  turning  over  some  papers  and  extract- 
ing one.  "Read  that!" 

She  took  the  paper  with  a  smile  that  withered  on  her 
lips  as  she  began  to  read. 

"It  is  impossible  to  see  here,"  she  exclaimed,  rising 
suddenly  and  crossing  to  a  table  underneath  the  hanging 
lamp.  She  sat  down  to  hide  the  trembling  of  her  hand, 
flattened  the  paper  on  the  table  before  her  and  read  on 
steadily.  It  was  a  typewritten  copy  of  an  official  dec- 
laration about  to  be  scattered  broadcast  for  the  edifica- 
tion of  neutral  nations. 

"Inasmuch  as  the  Armenians  are  committing  acts  op- 
posed to  the  laws  and  taking  advantage  of  all  occasions 
to  disturb  the  Government;  as  they  have  been  found  in 
possession  of  prohibited  arms,  bombs,  and  explosive  ma- 
terials, prepared  with  the  object  of  internal  revolt;  as 
they  have  killed  Moslems  in  Van  and  have  aided  the 
Russian  armies  at  a  time  when  the  Government  is  in  a 
state  of  war  with  England,  France  and  Russia:  and  in 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        171 

the  apprehension  that  the  Armenians  may,  as  is  their 
habit,  lend  themselves  to  seditious  tumult  and  revolt ;  the 
Government  have  decreed  that  all  the  Armenians  shall  be 
collected  and  dispatched  to  the  vilayets  of  Mosul,  Syria, 
and  Deir-el-Zur,  their  persons,  goods  and  honor  being 
safeguarded.  The  necessary  orders  have  been  given  for 
ensuring  their  comfort,  and  for  their  residence  in  those 
territories  until  the  termination  of  the  war." 

He  watched  her  narrowly,  a  fact  of  which  she  was 
conscious,  as  she  strove  to  keep  the  succeeding  emotions 
of  anger,  indignation  and  fear  from  appearing  in  her 
face.  The  blow  so  often  dreaded  and  discussed  in  antic- 
ipation had  been  prepared  and  was  about  to  fall. 

"Well?"  she  questioned,  deliberately.  "Well?  Can 
you  hand  me  a  statement  like  this  without  expressing 
your  own  detestation  of  such  a  monstrous  crime  ? ' ' 

He  moved  hastily  to  her  side.  This  was  a  point  of 
view  he  had  not  foreseen.  With  his  usual  obtuseness  he 
had  calculated  upon  an  appealing  display  of  feminine 
weakness. 

"Crime?  Why  it  is  a  most  reasonable  and  tolerant 
decree,"  he  expostulated.  "Of  course  it  is  always  mel- 
ancholy that  such  precautions  touch  the  innocent  as  well 
as  the  guilty ;  but  note  how  every  one 's  comfort  is  to  be 
ensured,  and  their  stay  in  the  prescribed  districts  made 
as  easy  as  possible." 

Veronica's  eyes  kindled,  regarding  him  steadily  as  he 
spoke. 

"What  are  such  promises  worth,  Herr  Rosen?  Noth- 
ing at  all,  and  you  know  it  as  well  as  I  do,"  she  said, 
vehemently.  "Take  your  paper!  It  is  a  terrible  state- 
ment. I  repeat  it  is  Nicholas  who  should  have  been  your 
confidant. ' ' 


172        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"But  it  is  you  above  all  others  I  want  to  shield  from 
difficulties." 

"By  trying  to  scare  me?  Is  that  how  your  women  in 
Germany  like  to  be  treated?  Do  you  really  think  I 
would  seize  any  advantage  that  my  family  could  not 
share?" 

"Exactly  what  I  foresaw.  The  whole  matter  lies  in 
your  hands.  I  have  planned  everything,"  he  said, 
eagerly.  "You  have  only  to  consent  to  our  marriage 
before  Nicholas  leaves  and  all  can  be  easily  managed. 
The  step  has  been  contemplated  so  long.  Let  us  take  it 
immediately. ' ' 

Veronica's  blood  froze  under  his  words.  She  kept  her 
eyes  lowered,  her  gaze  averted,  lest  he  should  read  in 
them  too  readily  the  horror  congealing  her  heart. 

' '  This  is  the  urgent  reason  for  my  visit  here  to-night, ' ' 
he  went  on.  "I  want  Nicholas  to  be  assured  before  he 
leaves  that  you  are  all  in  absolute  safety  and  comfort. 
For  of  course  Mme.  Severin  and  Zia  will  move  over  to  the 
Consulate.  There  will  be  room  for  us  all. ' ' 

"Impossible!"  shot  from  Veronica's  lips. 

"No,  no!  Nothing  is  impossible,  above  all  this  most 
splendid  dream  of  seeing  you  my  wife, ' '  he  cried,  catch- 
ing her  hand  and  pressing  it  between  his  own  hands,  not 
daring  a  closer  caress.  "Be  persuaded,  my  beautiful 
sweetheart!  Have  no  fear!  Your  Otto  will  prove  the 
most  loving  and  indulgent  husband." 

This  time  there  was  no  responsive  smile  on  her  lips. 
She  could  listen  no  longer.  With  a  jerking  movement 
she  got  up. 

"I  cannot  be  rushed  like  this,"  she  said,  her  voice 
palpably  shaking.  "Weddings  are  out  of  place  in  war 
time.  I  cannot  even  contemplate  the  idea  of  marriage 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        173 

just  now.  We  must  all  take  our  chance  and  trust  in 
God." 

He  stood  silent  with  quickly  changed  expression,  his 
eyes  staring  moodily  at  her.  Perhaps  after  all  he  had 
made  a  mistake  not  to  speak  first  to  Nicholas.  United 
persuasion  would  have  had  stronger  effect.  A  new  idea 
sprang  to  his  mind.  He  took  up  the  paper. 

"At  any  rate  you  know  what  is  coming.  You  are 
warned,"  he  said  with  gravity,  replacing  the  decree  in 
his  letter  case.  "I  can  do  no  more." 

"But  you  will  show  it  to  Nicholas  and  Mother,"  she 
said  with  a  new  flush  of  alarm. 

"0  dear,  no!  As  you  refuse  to  meet  the  crisis  in  the 
only  way  possible  to  relieve  your  brother's  mind  and  be 
of  service  to  your  mother  I  shall  not  dream  of  needlessly 
rousing  their  anxiety  in  advance. ' ' 

"But  you  must,"  she  returned  earnestly.  "It  is  your 
duty  as  a  friend." 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  spread  out  his  hands 
in  response.  A  queer  light  came  into  his  eyes. 

Veronica  breathed  hard.  She  turned  right  and  left, 
started  for  the  door,  came  back  and  again  confronted 
him. 

"Wait!"  she  gasped.  "Wait  till  to-morrow.  I  must 
think  first.  It  is  all  so  difficult. ' ' 

There  was  triumph  in  the  look  he  gave  her.  The  goal 
for  which  he  was  ever  striving  seemed  very  near. 

"Very  well!  To-morrow  I  will  come  again.  It  will 
be  the  last  time,  Veronica.  Remember  your  word  is 
pledged.  Not  a  word  of  this,"  he  tapped  his  breast, 
"till  you  see  me  again." 

Without  waiting  to  see  the  effect  of  his  words  he  went 
off. 


CHAPTER  XV 

danger  for  Pierre  Marson  and  their  own  com- 
J_  plicity  in  his  hurried  escape  had  been  staved  off. 
This  was  the  sum  total  of  their  relief  of  mind  when  Mme. 
Severin  and  Nicholas  found  that  Rosen  had  left  without 
waiting  to  see  them  again.  All  was  well  as  he  meant 
to  return  without  fail  the  following  day. 

That  Veronica  could  do  more  than  temporize  with  him 
was  out  of  the  question  now  she  was  irretrievably  bound 
to  another  man.  That  she  was  overcome  to  the  point  of 
collapse  was  also  intelligible  after  the  dual  strain  of  fare- 
well to  her  lover,  and  at  once  coping  bravely  with  a  criti- 
cal situation. 

So  Rosen  and  his  visit  were  dismissed  to  give  place  to 
discussion  of  plans  for  the  family.  It  was  settled  that 
preparations  for  shutting  up  the  house  should  be  hurried 
on,  and  as  soon  as  complete  the  family  would  set  out  for 
the  village  where  their  relative  Kasbarian  was  pastor  to 
a  community  of  Armenians. 

Veronica,  pondering  over  this  step  in  the  light  of  the 
ominous  declaration,  imagined  that  such  a  removal  would 
obviate  in  their  case  any  official  enforcement  of  the  dis- 
patch. If  so  her  silence  on  the  subject  constituted  no 
menace  to  her  loved  ones. 

Next  day  came  and  passed.  Rosen  did  not  appear  at 
the  house.  Perhaps  he  meant  to  push  Veronica  so  closely 
for  time  that  further  procrastination  would  be  impos- 
sible. Trapped  into  so  narrow  a  corner  surrender  would 
be  inevitable. 

174 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT         175 

Doctor  Severin's  day  of  departure  came.  He  was 
distinctly  worried.  ''What  can  I  do  for  you?"  Rosen 
had  said  amiably.  "Command  me  and  I  will  do  my 
utmost;"  but  he  had  neither  waited  to  receive  his 
friend's  instructions  nor  come  again  as  promised. 

Veronica  was  both  relieved  and  alarmed.  Believed 
that  the  definite  refusal  was  again  postponed.  Alarmed 
because  it  looked  as  if  Rosen  was  waiting  to  gain  some 
fancied  advantage  which  their  position  without  Nicholas 
might  yield  to  him. 

Though  pressed  for  time  Nicholas  took  the  decisive 
step  of  calling  at  the  German  Consulate. 

1  'You  have  been  long,"  said  his  mother  on  his  return, 
grudging  every  moment  he  was  out  of  her  sight. 

"It  was  unavoidable.  I  had  to  wait  and  even  then 
Rosen  would  not  see  me." 

"Not  see  you?" 

"Strange,  isn't  it?  I  cannot  fathom  his  game.  I 
waited  thinking  there  was  some  mistake,  and  sent  in 
another  message.  The  first  time  I  was  told  the  Consul 
was  engaged.  The  second  reply  was  a  distinct  refusal  to 
receive  me,  though  veiled  in  palaver  by  the  clerk.  Im- 
possible to  see  me,  however  urgent  my  business. ' ' 

' '  It  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  me, ' '  put  in  Veronica, 
anxiously.  ' '  He  must  have  some  other  hidden  motive. ' ' 

"  I  at  once  went  to  see  Mr.  Luce  the  American  Consul, ' ' 
continued  Nicholas.  "Like  the  good  fellow  he  is  he  has 
promised  to  help  you  in  any  unforeseen  difficulty.  You 
are  to  let  him  know  whenever  he  can  be  of  the  least 
service.  Should  he  hear  of  any  one  going  by  your  route 
he  will  let  you  know  so  that  you  might  travel  together." 

"Then  we  can  dispense  with  the  favors  of  Herr  Otto 
Rosen,"  saici  Anna  Severin. 


176        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

' '  Thank  heaven !     Thank  heaven ! ' '  cried  Veronica. 

"All  the  same  I  am  dissatisfied,"  said  Nicholas, 
uneasily. 

"I  trust  the  fellow  has  nothing  disagreeable  up  his 
sleeve. ' ' 

"No  fear!  He  simply  nurses  the  delusion  that  a  show 
of  independence  and  temper  will  melt  Vronka,"  said 
Mme.  Severin. 

Veronica  was  perplexed.  Did  Rosen 's  failure  to  make 
good  his  own  promise,  and  his  curious  refusal  to  see 
Nicholas,  cancel  the  secrecy  imposed  upon  her! 

"There  is  something  else,"  she  said,  deciding  quickly 
her  course.  "He  pledged  me  to  silence,  but  his  present 
behavior  makes  the  matter  too  serious  to  hide. ' ' 

Her  hesitation  and  doubt  once  thrown  aside  she  gave 
a  lucid  account  of  her  latest  duel  with  Rosen,  how  he  had 
thrust  and  she  had  parried  till  at  last  he  had  held  her 
at  his  mercy  on  account  of  his  refusal  to  show  the  docu- 
ment to  Nicholas. 

"I  was  sure  you  had  something  else  on  your  mind, 
cherie,"  said  her  mother,  tenderly. 

Nicholas  paid  close  attention  to  the  story,  weighing  all 
carefully  with  a  contemptuous  judgment  of  the  man  and 
his  tactics. 

"In  any  case  I  should  have  been  compelled  to  enlist 
the  good  offices  of  Mr.  Luce,"  he  said. 

"But  the  declaration,  Nicholas,  that  is  the  important 
matter  to  consider." 

"It  seems  to  me  a  mere  bogey  to  coerce  Veronica.  She 
says  it  was  only  type-written.  If  it  really  existed  some 
inkling  would  have  trickled  through  to  me.  I  am  per- 
fectly easy  on  that  score." 

All  too  soon  Nicholas  had  gone.    Somewhere  out  in  the 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        177 

blue ;  that  was  all  they  knew,  for  Mosul  after  all  was  only 
a  doubtful  goal.  The  British  were  worming  up  the 
Euphrates  from  Basra;  the  Russians  were  in  the  Cau- 
casus. Turkish  troops  were  pouring  towards  both 
fronts.  The  medical  unit  to  which  he  was  attached 
might  be  bound  for  either.  Letters?  "Who  could  tell? 
The  field  postal  service  of  the  Turkish  army  needed 
searching  reorganization  for  them  to  become  any  but  an 
uncertain  and  rare  quantity.  This  in  spite  of  the 
fevered  reforms  carried  by  their  German  over-lords  into 
every  branch  of  military  activity. 

Veronica's  home  anxieties  obscured  in  part  the  grief 
and  suspense  about  Pierre  which  pursued  her  day  and 
night.  If  only  the  implacable  silence  could  be  broken 
was  the  wish  that  stabbed  her  unceasingly  to  the  heart. 
But  her  mother,  outwardly  courageous  to  the  last  look 
of  her  son,  utterly  broke  down  when  he  was  out  of  her 
sight  and  was  prostrate  for  days. 

"I  depend  upon  you,  Veronica,"  Nicholas  said  im- 
pressively. "It  is  my  one  consolation  to  feel  that  you 
will  be  eyes  and  ears  for  our  mother,  and  cherish  my 
little  Zia  as  if  she  were  your  own." 

But  Zia,  miserable  without  her  father,  was  not  easily 
comforted  and  exceedingly  captious.  Veronica's  anger 
still  rankled  in  the  child 's  memory.  It  was  to  her  grand- 
mother she  clung  in  these  days  rather  than  to  Aunt 
Vronka.  Mme.  Severin  responding  to  the  greater  pull 
at  her  heart  strings  was  called  back  the  sooner  to  a  state 
of  resignation. 

"Helas,  it  is  destiny,"  she  declared.  "Nothing  we 
can  do  of  ourselves  can  possibly  change  what  is  already 
ordained. ' ' 

Rosen  still  gave  no  sign  of  life,  but  his  silence  ceased 


178       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

to  give  concern.  Other  friends  came  in  and  out  more 
frequently  to  sympathize  and  offer  to  help  in  the  absence 
of  Nicholas.  Tales  of  the  war,  of  fabulous  victories 
under  Turkish  and  German  command  colored  all  the 
gossip  that  drifted  in. 

Certain  of  the  doctor's  gratis  patients,  chased  from 
the  hospital  under  the  new  regime,  found  their  way  to 
the  back  gate  of  the  house.  For  these  Veronica  did  what 
she  could,  but  remedies  were  no  longer  abundant.  The 
little  chest  of  medicine  prepared  for  her  by  Nicholas  he 
had  charged  her  to  use  sparingly.  None  could  be  easily 
renewed. 

"Impossible  to  treat  them  all  as  he  did.  We  should 
never  get  done,"  said  Mme.  Severin.  "The  Arab 
patient  is  a  sponge  that  would  sop  up  the  sea. ' ' 

One  day  the  ragged  importunate  crowd  ceased  to 
collect  and  did  not  again  appear.  Amina  brought  in 
word  that  two  soldiers  at  the  end  of  the  lane  allowed  no 
one  to  pass.  All  kinds  of  new  regulations  being  now  en- 
forced on  the  town,  those  who  professed  to  be  in  the 
know  predicted  that  martial  law  might  set  in  at  any 
moment. 

The  military  had  taken  over  the  railway.  Movements 
of  travelers  were  controlled  by  passports  or  special  per- 
mits. All  the  exasperating  restrictions  with  which  the 
late  Sultan  had  fettered  his  subjects,  especially  the 
Christians,  had  come  back.  Armenians,  for  instance, 
could  no  longer  travel  where  they  pleased  without  very 
special  attention  to  their  identification  certificates. 

The  diligence  for  the  coast  ran  irregularly  these  days. 
It  was  always  crowded  and  not  very  safe  owing  to  the 
raiding  bands  of  deserters  who  had  turned  brigand. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT         179 

Folk  who  were  lucky  traveled  in  parties,  preferably  at 
the  same  time  as  the  mail,  which  was  protected  by  an 
armed  guard.  Big  backsheesh  was  exacted  for  this 
privilege. 

Mme.  Severin  was  prepared  to  pay,  and  soon  all  was 
ready  for  the  journey.  That  is  to  say  all  but  the  pass- 
port, about  which  there  was  undue  delay.  Yet  others 
had  been  made  to  wait.  There  was  no  doubt  the  official 
heads  whose  signatures  were  essential  had  never  been  so 
hard  worked  in  their  lives. 

The  almond  trees  were  in  blossom  when  Nicholas 
Severin  went  away.  Two  weeks  later  the  land  around 
Opella  was  fragrant  with  flowering  herbs.  These  the 
countrywomen  collected  in  great  flat  baskets  and  brought 
for  sale  into  the  town  on  their  heads  or  spread  out  with 
vegetables  on  the  backs  of  the  asses.  For  the  ordinary 
Syrian  is  never  so  happy  as  when  he  is  fingering  a  nose- 
gay, or  sporting  a  flower,  or  inhaling  the  odor  of  bruised 
petals  and  leaves  strewn  pell  mell  over  his  terraces. 

Veronica,  who  had  come  out  on  a  last  hurried  shopping 
expedition,  stood  selecting  while  Amina  bargained  with 
one  of  these  women  who  had  squatted  with  her  burden 
alongside  a  wall  on  their  route. 

Oh,  the  bitter-sweetness  of  this  appeal  of  spring 
beauty ! 

Something  rebellious  rose  and  beat  fiercely  in  Ver- 
onica's throat.  Why  was  she  made  to  suffer  so  cruelly 
when  others  lived  happily  and  never  knew  what  it  meant 
to  live  in  hourly  apprehension  for  the  fate  of  the  being 
loved  beyond  everything  upon  earth.  As  if  to  press  back 
and  stifle  the  heart-ache  magnified  by  the  mingled 
scents  and  colors  she  crushed  up  against  her  bosom  a  big 


i8o        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

armful  of  anemones,  white  and  lilac,  crimson  and  blue, 
while  she  packed  into  Amina's  basket  bunch  upon  bunch 
of  strangely  pungent  herbs. 

Out  of  the  passers-by  a  little  crowd  quickly  closed 
round  taking  the  usual  lively  interest  and  share  in  the 
transaction.  Veronica  unused  to  the  veil  which  her 
mother  insisted  upon  her  wearing  these  days,  had  mo- 
mentarily thrust  it  aside.  Her  face,  paler  and  stiller 
than  ordinary,  with  repression  straightening  her  lips, 
was  grave,  almost  severe,  in  profile. 

She  was  still  bending  when  she  felt  a  decided  pull  at 
her  mantle,  and  a  low  voice  whispered  in  her  ear: 
"Danger!  The  hunters  are  out.  Take  this  and  go 
home !  Read  it  alone ! ' ' 

Instinctively  she  lowered  her  hand  without  looking 
round.  Nothing  caused  her  surprise  in  the  maze  of  un- 
realities which  had  sprung  up  in  her  life.  In  a  moment 
a  folded  paper  cautiously  thrust  into  her  hand  was 
secreted.  She  dared  not  look  up  but  still  fumbled  among 
the  flowers  while  Amina's  tongue  ran  on  noisily  claiming 
general  attention. 

But  Veronica's  heart  was  beating  tempestuously.  She 
had  received  her  cue.  Who  was  the  messenger?  Some 
one  intimate  and  beloved,  or  another  acting  on  his  behalf, 
or  was  it  a  friend  of  Nicholas,  or  one  of  the  many  to 
whom  he  had  been  a  benefactor? 

' '  Come  Amina,  though  time  is  short  you  know  we  are 
obliged  to  pass  by  the  chemist  on  our  way  home,"  she 
said  in  a  clear  voice  meant  to  be  heard  by  another  ear. 
With  a  quick  movement  she  turned  sharply  round,  and 
as  she  moved  away  her  eyes  cast  a  casual  yet  sweeping 
glance  over  those  who  stood  near. 

"Allah!    It  is  even  more  necessary  to  call  a,t  the 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        181 

pastry  cook's,  or  our  little  swallow  will  die  for  lack  of  the 
right  food  to  nourish  her, ' '  cried  Amina. 

"Hurry  then!  We  can  go  home  through  the  market 
place."  This  was  a  shorter  cut  to  their  own  quarter 
than  the  way  they  had  come. 

The  group  of  two  Moslem  women,  a  beggar  or  two,  a 
negro  sherbet-seller,  a  dark-robed  Jew  with  side  locks 
dangling  under  his  round  fur  cap,  a  Circassian  striding 
away,  a  few  children,  threw  no  light  on  the  identity  of 
the  mysterious  speaker. 

Disturbed  with  frantic  surmise  and  by  a  tumult  of 
chasing  emotions,  Veronica  failed  to  notice,  as  she  walked 
away,  the  behavior  of  the  flower  seller. 

"May  Satan  strangle  you  and  all  like  you,"  muttered 
the  woman  ferociously,  in  return  for  which  pleasantry 
Amina  turned  with  flaming  eyes  and  spat  angrily  on  the 
ground  before  her. 

Never  had  the  souks  seemed  fuller  of  vivid  and  varied 
life.  Every  one  was  hurrying.  The  buzz  of  tongues 
seemed  on  a  higher  key  than  ordinary.  Some  under- 
current of  excitement  was  working  like  quicksilver 
through  the  blue  twilight  of  the  covered  streets. 

Veronica's  nerves  quivered  to  the  unseen  influence. 
All  kinds  of  distressful  questions  streamed  through  her 
mind. 

' '  What  is  it  ? "  she  asked  herself.    ' '  What  is  it  ? " 

Contrary  to  custom  the  shopkeepers  in  no  way  pressed 
their  goods  upon  her,  and  what  was  stranger  still  omitted 
their  usual  salutation.  What  was  in  the  air?  Who 
could  have  warned  her? 

Directly  Amina  had  bought  what  was  necessary  to 
whet  Zia's  dainty  appetite  Veronica  hurried  her  on. 
But  the  narrow  street  into  which  they  turned  to  reach 


182        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

the  market  place  was  suddenly  invaded  by  a  press  of 
people  pouring  excitedly  through  it  from  several  direc- 
tions. The  girl  and  her  maid  were  drawn  into  the 
human  torrent.  But  for  certain  remarks  tossed  about 
in  the  crowd  the  nature  of  the  mood  which  possessed  the 
people  might  have  been  that  of  a  gala  day. 

"They  will  be  treated  the  same!" 

"Who  can  deny  that  the  justice  of  Allah  has  come?" 

"God's  curse  on  all  unbelievers!  They  reap  only 
what  they  have  sown." 

Veronica  felt  that  something  sinister  was  afloat. 
Pressed  onward  by  the  surging  crowds  they  suddenly 
came  out  on  the  market  place.  Here  the  people  were 
able  to  spread  out  and  then  swarm  to  a  standstill.  But 
the  shrill  frenzy  of  chatter  in  no  way  abated. 

Here  an  involuntary  -cry  escaped  from  Veronica.  Her 
eyes  stared  forward  with  petrified  fixity  of  gaze.  She 
gripped  Amina  by  the  arm  motioning  dumbly  to  another 
crowd  of  human  beings  massed  in  the  center  of  the  great 
open  space,  a  crowd  of  an  entirely  different  character 
from  that  to  which  the  two  women  unwillingly  belonged. 

"What  can  it  mean?     Who  are  they?"  she  exclaimed. 

A  cordon  of  Turkish  soldiers  were  herding  this  other 
crowd  into  the  middle  of  the  market  place.  Many  of 
them  were  still  trudging  painfully  forward  in  slow  pro- 
cession from  the  high  road  which  lay  beyond  the  town 
on  the  further  side. 

Women,  young  and  old,  children  of  all  ages,  young 
boys  and  aged  men,  all  wan.  emaciated,  hollow-eyed, 
covered  with  dust  and  sweat  were  huddled  together  on 
the  ground,  or  standing  close  packed  like  cattle  with 
down  cast  heads  and  bowed  shoulders.  Those  approach- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        183 

ing  were  like  sleep  walkers  who  appeared  to  see,  neither 
hear  anything  at  all.  Like  the  Gibeonites  of  old  their 
garments  were  ragged,  and  filthy,  and  few,  as  if  by 
reason  of  a  very  long  journey.  Those  who  had  no  rem- 
nants of  shoes  or  sandals  clouted  with  rags  upon  their 
feet  walked  bare-footed  and  bleeding. 

All  had  the  aspect  of  people  sorely  hurt  and  mentally 
dazed,  who  had  barely  escaped  with  their  lives  from 
some  great  catastrophe  of  earthquake,  fire  or  famine. 
Here  were  heads  and  eyes  bandaged,  there  arms  and 
legs  wound  round  with  blood  dyed  rags.  Many  seemed 
in  a  fainting  condition.  One  and  the  other  tottered  and 
dropped  to  their  knees,  only  to  be  brought  staggering  to 
their  feet  by  the  prod  of  a  rifle  butt  end  or  soldier's 
bayonet.  Little  children  whimpered  continuously,  too 
exhausted  to  raise  a  cry.  They  opened  their  mouths  in- 
cessantly like  starving  birds  or  like  fish  dying  on  dry 
land. 

' '  Who  are  they  ?  What  does  it  mean  ? ' '  repeated  Ver- 
onica, automatically,  her  own  mouth  and  lips  parched 
by  the  horror  and  distress  which  contracted  her  throat. 

"Come  away!  Come  away!  We  must  go  home," 
said  Amina,  agitatedly,  seizing  her  by  the  arm.  She 
had  been  listening  to  the  talk  going  on  around  while 
Veronica,  stupefied,  stared  with  increasing  horror  at  the 
tragic  throng. 

"No,  they  suffer,  they  are  hungry.  They  must  be 
succored,"  she  replied.  "We  must  do  something  for 
them,  seek  water  and  food  for  them." 

The  cruel  condition  of  these  people  who  looked  like 
hard-pressed,  wounded  fugitives  fresh  from  all  the  tor- 
tures of  an  invaded  war  zone,  filled  her  with  the  one  idea 


184        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

of  administering  to  their  needs.  It  was  a  scene  impos- 
sible to  understand  without  enlightenment.  That  it 
augured  disaster  for  themselves  she  did  not  divine. 

Loud  commanding  shouts  penetrated  the  shrill  hubbub 
of  voices  resounding  on  all  sides. 

"Dahrak!  Out  of  the  way  O  less  than  dust!  His 
Excellency  is  here !  Dahrak !  Clear  a  way !  Dahrak ! ' ' 

Veronica  and  Amina  clinging  closely  together  were 
hemmed  in  anew  by  waves  of  movement  in  the  crowd. 
By  magic  a  passage  was  cleared,  along  which  rode 
Ahmed  Pasha  and  a  German  officer  with  a  small  mounted 
escort. 

"Draw  your  veil,  little  sister,"  whispered  a  low  voice 
in  Veronica's  ear. 

She  obeyed,  rapidly  realizing  with  a  start  of  dismay 
and  pang  of  fear  the  fatal  remissness  that  had  singled 
her  out  ever  since  the  purchase  of  the  flowers,  and  which 
had  possibly  accounted  for  the  remote  attitude  of  the 
bazaar  shopkeepers,  who  are  always  in  touch  with  the 
public  mood  of  the  hour. 

Right  and  left  the  German  officer's  small  mocking  eyes 
played  incessantly  over  the  crowd  near  him,  appraising, 
searching  out  and  classifying.  Soldiers,  more  soldiers, 
and  still  more,  they  appeared  to  demand.  For  an  in- 
stant Veronica  had  an  uneasy  impression  that  the  metal- 
lic glance  rested  momentarily  on  herself  and  Amina,  but 
soon  saw  that  it  concerned  the  man  standing  at  her 
shoulder,  some  one  of  whose  identity  she  was  passionately 
curious.  For  it  was  certain  that  he  alone  could  have 
spoken  to  her. 

Apparently  he  was  a  Circassian  wrapped  about  in  the 
usual  black  cloak.  All  that  was  visible  of  his  face  under 
the  white  woolen  hood  covering  his  astrakhan  cap  was 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        185 

bronzed  almost  to  blackness.  But  though  he  seemed 
strong  and  wiry  in  build  his  shoulders  were  bowed  and 
his  beard  grizzled,  so  the  German's  glance  darted  wider 
afield  to  spy  out  younger  men  at  this  priceless  oppor- 
tunity for  searching  them  out. 

As  the  riders  passed  and  the  people  who  had  formed 
the  lane  closed  up  behind  them  Veronica  was  again 
jostled  to  and  fro,  though  preserved  from  stumbling  by 
a  firm  clutch  on  her  arm. 

The  pasha  riding  slowly  round  the  cordon  in  the  center 
began  to  interview  the  soldiers  in  charge.  His  clean- 
cut  thin  face  was  grim  and  set.  He  spoke  with  a  com- 
manding voice. 

"If  I  hear  one  man  I  must  hear  all  and  both  sides," 
he  called  out.  "Get  back  that  I  may  give  ear  to  the 
complaints  in  turn. ' ' 

Just  then  the  Circassian,  whose  eyes  dark  and  luminous 
under  their  hooded  shelter  kept  unceasing  watch  on  the 
surrounding  people,  saw  that  every  neck  was  suddenly 
craned  to  investigate  a  new  agitation  on  the  edge  of  the 
crowd  nearest  the  bazaars.  At  once  he  bent  his  head 
low  over  Veronica  and  spoke  into  her  ear  in  a  muffled 
voice. 

' '  This  pasha  is  at  least  human,  but  the  stone  has  been 
set  rolling.  He  cannot  stop  it." 

"Ah!  It  is — "  gasped  Veronica,  only  checking  her 
tongue  in  time  from  uttering  the  name  of  "John"  aloud. 

"Hush!" 

"Not  a  soul  listens,"  she  said  under  her  breath. 
' '  See,  they  are  all  watching  something  over  there. ' ' 

"It  is  enough  if  only  one  were  to  see  us  talking  to- 
gether. Kead  the  note  later.  It  is  important. ' ' 

John  Culver,  so  skillfully  disguised  as  to  defy  recogni- 


i86 

tion  unless  he  chose  to  give  a  clew  to  his  real  identity, 
was  keenly  watching  an  opportunity  to  extricate  Ver- 
onica from  her  dangerous  position.  Fierce  cries  rose 
from  behind.  Again  the  press  swayed  and  was  forced 
asunder  by  a  number  of  men  laden  with  all  kinds  of 
household  furniture. 

"Now  is  the  moment,"  whispered  John  of  a  sudden. 
' '  Come  on,  close  behind  me ! " 

Panting,  half  choked  the  two  women  struggled  on  step 
by  step  behind  the  thrusting  elbows  of  the  figure  pushing 
on  in  front.  All  around  them  surged  the  crowd,  shout- 
ing and  jostling.  A  few  interminable  minutes  of  slow 
progress  and  then  on  the  edge  of  the  square  opened  out 
close  at  hand  a  comparatively  empty  street. 

' '  That  way !  Go  slowly, ' '  said  John  as  he  turned  sud- 
denly to  one  side  to  let  them  pass  and  then  himself  dis- 
appearing instantly. 

"Allah!  Allah!"  babbled  Amina  as  she  shuffled 
down  the  street  by  Veronica's  side.  They  came  to  a 
broad  cross  street  which  swarmed  right  and  left  with 
another  rabble,  struggling  shapes  which  seemed  storm- 
ing the  shops  and  stalls  and  throwing  the  contents  into 
the  open  thoroughfare,  and  others  lading  themselves 
with  booty  of  every  description.  All  were  too  eagerly 
absorbed  to  take  any  notice  of  the  two  women  hung  up 
on  their  way  by  the  horror  of  the  ominous  spectacle. 

For  they  were  all  Christian  shops,  and  chiefly  Ar- 
menian; wealthy  shops  filled  with  the  richest  commodi- 
ties, jewelry,  and  glittering  silks,  and  eastern  luxuries 
of  many  kinds.  A  Moslem  more  audacious  than  the  rest 
had  suddenly  pounced  upon  a  valuable  article  and  ex- 
hibited his  prize  triumphantly.  It  was  a  signal  to  grasp 
and  whirl  away  whatever  took  their  fancy.  The  shop- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        187 

keepers  fled  in  fear  of  their  lives,  though  murder  had 
not  yet  mingled  in  the  unbridled  game  of  pillage. 

Veronica  breathed  hard.  Her  first  thought  leaped  to 
her  mother.  Pictures  of  a  dreadful  past  edged  round 
by  lines  of  fire  flitted  through  her  brain  as  she  walked 
swiftly,  continually  urging  Amina  to  hasten  her  steps. 
The  way  they  trod  was  quiet  and  luckily  unfrequented 
just  then.  They  passed  the  Turkish  Post  Office. 
Twenty  yards  further  the  street  widened  into  a  small 
open  area  where  stood  several  official  buildings,  and 
among  them  the  double  gates  and  strong  outer  wall  of 
the  German  Consulate. 

With  an  added  shudder  Veronica  hurried  by  on  the 
other  side.  Those  iron  bars  seemed  to  her  agitated  mind 
a  trap  that  might  open  on  the  instant  to  snatch  her 
within.  Hardly  had  she  passed  than  a  covered  carriage 
drove  quickly  by  and  drew  up  at  a  big  gate  further  on 
where  Turkish  sentries  were  posted. 

Suddenly  Amina  gave  a  loud  exclamation,  turned 
round  and  stood  stock  still,  refusing  to  budge. 

' '  Look,  look ! ' '  she  said  in  a  scared  voice,  pulling  Ver- 
onica back  with  vigor.  "The  little  Zia  in  that  carriage. 
It  was  Zia  and  none  other." 

"You  are  mad,  you  see  dreams,"  retorted  Veronica 
sternly.  "Come  on  this  minute!  The  least  delay  may 
mean  harm  to  both  Zia  and  mother." 

Muttering  protests  and  half  weeping  the  woman  fol- 
lowed obediently  after  giving  another  backward  glance 
at  the  carriage  which  was  already  moving  away  from  the 
gate. 

When  they  reached  the  house  five  minutes  later  it  was 
to  find  an  atmosphere  of  distress  and  confusion.  Mme. 
Severin,  absorbed  in  duties  entailed  by  her  early  de- 


i88        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

parture,  had  relaxed  her  watch  over  Zia's  movements. 
Missing  her  she  called  out  within  doors,  and  then  from 
the  veranda,  hut  Zia  was  not  to  be  found  anywhere  and 
the  garden  gate  was  wide  open. 

Never  once  had  she  been  known  to  venture  alone  into 
the  street,  her  lameness  causing  a  certain  timidity.  Ver- 
onica turned  to  Amina,  voiceless  with  a  new  dread. 

""Why  has  Allah  given  us  eyes  to  see  when  he  points 
the  way?  You  would  not  listen,"  cried  the  woman 
roughly,  distracted  with  fear  for  her  idol  after  all  she 
had  just  seen  and  gone  through.  "By  myself  I  will  go 
and  snatch  her  from  the  trap,  whatever  it  is.  Inshallah, 
I  shall  not  return  without  her." 

She  rushed  away  but  came  back  in  quarter  of  an  hour 
before  Veronica,  preoccupied  in  calming  her  mother, 
had  been  able  to  disclose  the  tragic  picture  of  the  market 
place,  or  the  history  of  the  pillage  of  Christian  shops. 

"If  they  kill  me  for  it  I  care  nothing  at  all,  but  give 
me  at  once  of  the  magic  powder  which  shuts  the  eye 
quickly  in  sleep,  and  it  must  be  strong,"  said  Amina 
grimly.  "I  have  not  seen  her  yet,  but  she  is  there  and 
calls  aloud  with  tears.  By  the  soul  of  my  mother  I  shall 
soon  carry  her  back  to  her  home.  Be  ready,  0  Sitt,  to 
set  out  on  your  journey  before  they  follow  and  snatch 
her  again  from  our  arms." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

AMINA  returned  to  the  house  where  the  carriage  had 
stopped.  That  sentries  were  at  the  gate  was  no 
hindrance  to  her  entry,  for  at  all  hours  of  the  day  a 
miscellaneous  number  of  people  were  allowed  to  stroll 
aimlessly  in  and  out  of  the  courtyard.  With  the  air  of 
one  bent  on  a  definite  errand  she  crossed  to  the  small 
room  of  the  coffee  hearth  presided  over  by  a  woman  of 
her  own  village  with  whom  she  was  on  intimate  terms. 

On  her  first  entrance,  wary  of  plunging  into  the  sub- 
ject vital  to  her  visit,  she  had  fished  for  information  with 
all  the  skillful  cunning  of  her  race.  Quickly  she  had 
got  in  touch  with  the  incident  which  was  exciting  cu- 
riosity, and  among  the  women  of  the  household  no  small 
indignation. 

A  little  girl,  daughter  of  the  good  clever  doctor  who 
had  cured  so  many  maladies  in  the  harem  of  this  official 
of  the  Turkish  Police,  had  been  brought  in  and  conveyed 
to  an  ante-chamber  removed  from  the  audience  hall. 
She  had  been  heard  to  call  out  long  and  plaintively. 

"In  the  name  of  Allah  what  does  it  mean,  my  sister?" 
whispered  the  old  woman. 

"It  is  the  work  of  a  devil  who  hates  all  angels  and 
tries  to  destroy  them, ' '  hissed  Amina.  ' '  Have  you  seen 
her?" 

' '  Just  a  glimpse  as  she  passed  in.  '  Greeting  to  you,  0 
Saida,'  she  said,  shaking  her  yellow  hair  over  her 
shoulder.  The  German  effendi  close  behind  hurried  her 
on  as  if  he  wanted  no  one  to  see  her." 

189 


i9o        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"The  little  delicate  one  with  the  heart  of  a  lion  has 
dared  to  defy  him  more  than  once.  He  wants  to  punish 
her  without  a  doubt, ' '  said  Amina,  her  black  eyes  darting 
right  and  left  and  out  into  the  hall  curiously  deserted 
to-day  of  its  ordinary  visitors  owing  to  attractions  else- 
where of  greater  magnitude.  All  her  native  ingenuity 
of  intrigue  had  started  furiously  to  work.  Five  minutes 
talk  revealed  that  her  friend  was  itching  to  go  into  the 
town  to  investigate  with  her  own  eyes  the  truth  of  the 
exciting  reports  brought  from  outside. 

"I  have  seen,  I  know!"  exclaimed  Amina  with  ani- 
mated suggestion  of  unprecedented  happenings.  "Go 
and  see  for  yourself  while  I  boil  coffee  in  your  absence. 
But  wait,"  she  added  with  an  illuminating  thought 
flashed  by  Allah  himself  into  her  mind  she  later  declared, 
"first  I  must  run  home  to  fulfill  the  errand  which 
brought  me  out.  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  I  will 
return." 

And  now  Amina,  outwardly  stolid  and  composed, 
crouched  in  solitary  charge  of  the  coffee  hearth.  Her 
ear  was  strained  to  catch  every  sound,  while  her  eyes 
were  on  the  watch  for  the  least  movement  of  the  revolv- 
ing cupboard  in  the  wall  which  communicated  with  the 
servants  of  the  Selamlik. 

"0  Saida,  mother  of  coffee,  hurry  up!  "Would  you 
make  His  Excellency  wait?"  at  last  came  the  summons 
for  which  she  had  made  ready. 

With  a  steady  hand  she  poured  out  the  coffee,  put  the 
tray  into  the  hutch  and  watched  it  slowly  disappear  from 
view.  The  pewter  coffee  jug  she  carefully  emptied  and 
at  once  put  a  fresh  lot  on  to  brew.  Then  she  dropped 
into  a  listening  pose,  but  only  for  a  few  moments  before 
she  stepped  to  the  doorway  and  looked  out  cautiously. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        191 

Suddenly  she  went  out  and  walked  quickly  through  the 
hall  where  two  or  three  turbaned  old  men  meditatively 
fingering  their  beads  looked  after  her  listlessly.  The 
passage  of  a  menial  more  or  less,  doubtless  a  slave,  was 
not  a  matter  to  excite  interest  or  curiosity. 

Amina  turned  into  a  corridor  at  the  end  of  the  hall, 
staying  her  steps  deferentially  near  a  portiere  where  a 
man  servant  was  on  guard. 

' '  This  is  the  hour  I  was  ordered  to  come  and  fetch  the 
child,"  she  said,  meekly.  "From  the  hanoum  Effendi 
herself  I  have  taken  my  orders." 

Doubt  glimmered  in  the  glance  thrown  her  by  the 
man  as  he  bent  forward  to  listen  before  the  portiere,  but 
the  sounds  to  which  he  had  listened  with  callous  in- 
difference for  the  last  half  hour  had  subsided.  Truth 
might  lie  after  all  in  this  woman 's  words.  He  raised  the 
portiere  and  looked  into  the  room. 

"They  sleep!"  he  exclaimed  in  a  surprised  whisper, 
adding  with  emphasis,  "and  must  not  be  disturbed." 

"Bismallah!  I  am  bound  to  carry  off  the  child. 
Such  are  my  orders,"  was  the  firm  reply,  and  before  a 
protest  could  be  raised  Amina  had  slipped  behind  the 
curtain. 

With  prompt  grip  of  the  situation  she  acted  unhesi- 
tatingly. Her  little  love,  her  ewe-lamb,  lying  bunched 
up  on  the  divan  in  the  strained  attitude  of  an  injured 
dog,  stared  at  her  with  the  eyes  of  one  beholding  an  im- 
possible vision.  Otto  Rosen,  lounging  to  one  side  of  her, 
was  sound  asleep  and  breathing  heavily,  his  head  awk- 
wardly propped  against  the  wall.  The  Turkish  official 
on  her  other  side  also  slept  with  a  little  intermittent 
snore,  his  head  buried  on  his  breast,  his  fingers  still 
slackly  holding  a  half  fallen  chibouk. 


i92        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Finger  on  lip  Amina  stole  to  the  divan  snatching  on 
her  way  at  a  dust  cloak,  evidently  Rosen's,  flung  over  a 
chair.  With  this  in  a  moment  she  had  enveloped  Zia 
from  head  to  foot  cautioning  her  in  a  whisper  to  be  per- 
fectly silent,  and  then  carried  her  away  in  her  strong 
arms.  The  decision  of  her  action,  and  fear  of  the 
hanoum's  anger  should  her  orders  be  thwarted  were  the 
magic  which  paralyzed  any  opposition  on  the  servant's 
part. 

But  Amina  herself,  who  had  weighed  her  chances  with- 
out fear,  only  felt  she  had  succeeded  in  her  daring  when, 
without  being  called  back  in  the  court,  or  arrested  in  her 
flight  through  the  street,  she  had  gained  the  haven  of 
home. 

At  the  gate  stood  Mme.  Severin  and  Veronica  both  in 
walking  garb,  having  decided  to  appeal  for  help  to  the 
American  Consul  if  Amina  failed  to  appear.  The  kid- 
naping of  Zia  had  precipitated  a  crisis.  In  addition 
John  Culver's  letter  spoke  of  pressing  danger,  intelli- 
gible enough  in  the  light  of  the  tumult  prevailing  in  the 
town.  He  urged  them  to  get  to  the  orchard  that  very 
day,  and  after  dark  a  boat  would  come  and  convey  them 
to  a  place  of  hiding.  All  the  same  a  safe  conduct  was 
essential  in  case  of  emergency.  For  this  Herr  Rosen 
might  be  asked  to  busy  himself  without  in  any  way  re- 
vealing their  plans  to  him. 

At  any  other  time  John's  sudden  reappearance  under 
disguise,  and  his  revelations  would  have  been  startling 
enough,  but  everything  paled  in  significance  by  the  side 
of  Zia's  extremity. 

"If  it  comes  to  the  worst  I  will  ask  Mr.  Luce  to  come 
with  me  to  Ahmed  Pasha  himself,  and  demand  that  the 
family  of  a  medical  officer  on  active  service  be  protected 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        193 

both  in  their  home  and  traveling,"  said  Anna  Severin, 
vehemently. 

"You  must  certainly  go  to  him.  He  behaved  well  to 
Nicholas  about  poor  Murad,"  said  Veronica,  who  in  a 
fever  of  wrathful  unrest  kept  running  into  the  road  to 
watch  for  the  first  glimpse  of  Amina. 

"Here  she  comes,"  she  called  at  last,  starting  swiftly 
to  meet  the  hurrying  figure. 

"No,  no!  Enter  and  fasten  the  gate!  I  alone  will 
take  her  in,"  gasped  the  woman,  refusing  to  halt  until, 
safely  indoors,  she  could  place  her  precious  burden  care- 
fully on  a  couch. 

"Oh,  dear  Mother  of  God!"  cried  Mme.  Severin  at 
sight  of  the  waxen  little  face  pressed  back  on  the  cushions 
with  a  tense  appearance  of  great  suffering.  "A  cordial 
with  brandy  in  it  at  once,  Veronica." 

' '  She  is  already  dead,  she  is  dead ! ' '  wailed  Amina. 

"She  has  only  fainted.  Keep  calm,  Amina.  After 
being  so  brave  you  must  not  give  way  now — but  what  is 
this  ? ' '  exclaimed  Mme.  Severin  in  horrified  tones.  ' '  Oh, 
the  devils,  the  devils!  They  have  been  torturing  this 
little  saint." 

"Where?  "What  is  it?"  asked  Veronica,  breathlessly, 
coming  to  her  side  with  glass  and  spoon.  ' '  Hold  up  her 
head  and  I  will  feed  her. ' ' 

' '  Give  it  to  me !  Bring  olive  oil  and  soft  lint  at  once. 
Her  little  hand  is  cruelly  burnt,"  said  Mme.  Severin  in 
a  strangled  voice.  ' '  Yes,  pretty  one, ' '  she  said  with  pas- 
sionate tenderness  as  Zia's  eyelids  flickered  and  then 
opened,  "you  are  at  home  quite  safe  with  Meme  and 
Dadi.  Swallow  that,  little  darling!  You  will  soon  be 
better." 

The  child,  big-eyed  and  wan,  stared  mutely  from  one 


194        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

face  to  the  other  as  she  obediently  gulped  down  a  few 
spoonfuls  of  the  cordial.  Then  she  made  a  sudden  effort 
to  sit  up  and  speak,  but  instead  burst  into  a  passion  of 
weeping.  By  degrees  she  was  calmed  and  they  bound  up 
the  badly  blistered  hand.  The  tension  relieved  by  her 
tears,  she  was  able  to  reply  to  their  questions  and  relate 
how  she  had  been  enticed  away. 

A  strange  man  had  come  to  her  in  the  garden,  evidently 
by  way  of  the  hospital  as  the  house  gate  had  been 
fastened  when  the  others  went  out  earlier.  This  man 
had  said  her  Uncle  John  was  waiting  to  see  her.  She 
must  come  at  once  and  say  nothing  to  her  grandmother 
as  it  was  to  be  a  surprise  for  her.  A  carriage  was  out- 
side the  gate  with  Herr  Rosen  in  it  and  he  took  her  away. 

"I  did  not  let  him  think  I  was  afraid.  Besides  I 
thought  Uncle  John  would  take  care  of  me,"  she  said, 
plaintively;  "but  he  was  not  in  that  house  and  I  did  not 
see  him  at  all.  They  told  me  a  lie. ' ' 

"In  heaven's  name  what  did  they  do  it  for?"  cried  the 
grandmother. 

"Pure  wickedness  and,  of  course,  spite,"  said  Veron- 
ica, fiercely.  ' '  That  man  would  stop  at  nothing. ' ' 

"They  did  it  because  they  wanted  me  to  tell  them 
things  about  father  and  our  visitors  and  about  Monsieur 
Marson  more  than  any  one, ' '  said  Zia,  excitedly.  ' '  They 
said  the  Frenchman  had  visited  our  house  quite  lately 
and  I  was  bound  to  tell  them  every  word  he  said.  I  said 
it  was  false.  He  had  not  been  to  the  house  at  all,  only 
to  the  orchard  a  long  time  ago.  They  did  not  believe 
me." 

"Was  that  why  they  hurt  you,  Zia  love?"  interrupted 
Veronica,  her  voice  shaking. 

The  child  nodded  agitatedly. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        195 

"The  pasha  put  his  pipe  on  my  hand  instead  of  the 
tray  directly  he  asked  me  a  question.  It  was  burning 
hot,  as  hot  as  Amina's  irons,  and  he  squeezed  my  hand 
inside  his  own  to  make  me  hold  the  pipe  very  tight. 
'Now  tell  me,'  he  said,  'before  it  burns  you  badly,  tell  me 
quickly,'  but  I  said  nothing,  only  my  prayers  very  fast 
out  loud  all  the  time.  I  remembered  what  Meme  told  me 
about  the  saints  and  the  martyrs  and  bad  consequences  if 
I  told  tales,"  she  went  on  in  her  shrill  thin  voice.  "I 
told  them  nothing  at  all.  They  called  me  an  obstinate 
little  devil.  Then  they  drank  coffee  and  went  to  sleep, 
and  Dadi  came  to  fetch  me. ' ' 

"My  lamb !  My  little  angel !"  said  Mme.  Severin  in  a 
deep,  thrilled  voice  as  she  folded  the  child  closely  in  her 
arms. 

"Make  ready  now,  0  Sitt,"  said  Amina,  hurriedly. 
' '  When  the  trick  is  discovered  they  will  send  for  us.  For 
myself  I  do  not  care  if  they  kill  me  like  Murad  for  I  have 
saved  our  Zia,  but  she  must  be  taken  away  at  once. ' ' 

"Yes,  with  no  delay,  to  the  American  Consulate," 
said  Veronica,  firmly.  "Once  there  we  can  make  our 
plans.  Mr.  Luce  will  help  us." 

"Oh,  it  is  shameful,  shameful!"  cried  Mme.  Severin 
in  tones  of  anguish,  "but  we  must  certainly  act  and 
lament  no  longer." 

Just  about  the  time  they  reached  the  American  Con- 
sulate in  safety  Otto  Rosen  stirred  uneasily  and  opened 
his  eyes.  For  the  moment  he  could  not  grasp  his  bear- 
ings, but  a  confused  look  around  was  followed  by  an 
awakening  to  conscious  remembrance. 

Bewildered  he  stared  at  the  vacant  place  beside  him, 
then  at  the  sleeping  Turk.  The  stubborn  child  had  been 
taken  away  while  somehow  he  had  fallen  asleep.  Strange 


j96        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

that  the  strain  which  he  had  certainly  experienced  dur- 
ing Zia's  ordeal  should  have  acted  like  a  soporific.  He 
could  not  understand  it.  Suspicion  began  to  stir,  yet  his 
first  feeling  was  of  relief.  Checking  his  impulse  of 
clamoring  to  the  sleeper  for  an  explanation  of  the  child's 
disappearance  he  pressed  his  hands  over  his  eyes,  which 
were  still  heavy,  got  up  and  made  for  the  door. 

The  same  man  still  held  guard  without.  He  related 
glibly  how  the  hanoum  Effendi  had  sent  one  of  her 
women  for  the  child  who  was  now  in  the  harem. 

Rosen  looked  back  undecided  at  the  sleeper  but  finally 
walked  off.  His  inner  man  was  dissatisfied  with  the 
drastic  nature  of  the  scene  he  had  witnessed.  Threats 
or  a  whipping  such  as  given  to  unruly  children  had  been 
his  notion  in  advance  of  coercing  Zia.  The  methods  of 
the  Turks  applied  individually  at  close  quarters  had 
grated  upon  him.  He  had  started  a  remonstrance  but 
then  hardened  his  heart  at  the  sound  of  Marson's  name, 
anticipating  he  knew  not  what  useful  information 
through  the  lips  of  the  tortured  child. 

But  to  his  infinite  wonder  not  one  incriminating  word 
had  escaped  her.  An  involuntary  comparison  with  Ver- 
onica sprang  to  his  mind.  Both  had  the  same  obstinate 
immovable  will.  Was  it  an  Armenian  characteristic? 
Undoubtedly.  Bah!  why  trouble  himself  about  these 
matters?  There  were  potent  reasons  now  clear  to  him 
why  he  should  detest  with  all  his  soul  any  being,  young 
or  old,  tainted  by  that  traitorous  strain  of  race. 

All  was  over  between  him  and  Veronica.  That  was  a 
fixed  and  settled  fact.  Only  he  wanted  to  punish  her,  to 
humiliate,  to  bring  her  to  her  knees  to  beg  mercy  from 
the  man  she  had  cajoled  and  rejected,  whom  she  had 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        197 

lured  on  to  the  most  beguiling  of  hopes,  only  cruelly  to 
cast  away  with  utter  disdain. 

To  his  own  gates  was  but  a  matter  of  a  few  steps. 
The  carriage  in  which  he  had  fetched  Zia  was  drawn  up 
in  the  court  waiting  his  return.  At  sight  of  it  he  felt 
conscious  of  an  impelling  need  of  air  and  at  the  same  time 
distraction.  The  personal  note  which  never  ceased  to 
clamor  through  every  activity  of  his  crowded  days  was 
more  than  ever  insistent.  This  time  it  urged  him  to  view 
with  his  own  eyes  the  band  of  deported  Armenians  which 
he  had  been  told  were  temporarily  lodged  on  the  market 
place  on  their  way  to  Der-el-Zor. 

He  was  soon  driving  in  that  direction,  speculating  after 
what  manner  the  authorities  would  carry  out  the  declara- 
tion of  the  Ottoman  government.  The  town  was  fairly 
quiet  again  now.  "With  grim  intentness  not  unmixed 
with  approval  of  what  seemed  merited  retribution  for  a 
treacherous  far-reaching  people  he  eyed  the  dolorous 
herd  of  refugees. 

The  majority  lay  huddled  together  prostrate  like 
corpses.  Here  and  there  little  children  stood  up  munch- 
ing ravenously  nuts  and  bits  of  bread  flung  to  them  by 
one  or  other  of  the  crowd  around  more  human  than  their 
fellows.  Famine,  murder  and  death  were  inseparable 
companions  of  war,  he  reflected,  and  no  power  on  earth 
could  hinder  the  innocent  from  suffering  with  the  guilty. 

Ahmed  Pasha  had  left  the  spot.  The  German  officer 
was  still  there  talking  to  a  group  of  well-to-do  Christians 
who  had  approached  with  gifts  of  food  and  clothing  for 
the  beggared  and  stricken  multitude.  They  were  told 
firmly,  frigidly,  that  the  Wali  had  received  orders  from 
head-quarters  that  no  Christians  of  any  class  were  to  be 


198        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

allowed  to  intervene.  Such  action  would  only  rouse  the 
ire  of  the  populace  with  worse  results.  The  travelers  had 
all  they  needed  at  present.  Substantial  help  awaited 
them  further  on  their  journey.  Catching  sight  of  Rosen 
in  his  carriage  the  German  officer  summarily  dismissed 
the  petitioners  and  rode  up  to  speak  with  him. 

"Temporary  hardships  only,  quite  unavoidable,"  he 
remarked.  "You  know  what  bungling  fools  those  local 
officials  are  at  organization,  no  initiative,  and  still  less 
decision.  That  explains  this  situation, ' '  with  a  wave  of 
the  hand  over  the  square.  "However,  they  mean  to  see 
the  matter  through  very  thoroughly  now,  but  rely  on  our 
solid  support.  This  is  only  the  first  lot  of  deportees  to 
pass  this  way.  Other  bigger  ones  are  to  follow,  and 
many  large  bands  are  en  route  by  other  roads. ' ' 

"A  hopelessly  useless  lot  to  look  at,"  replied  Eosen, 
dryly.  "Small  purpose  to  convey  them  anywhere,  it 
seems  to  me." 

"Just  so,  mere  riff-raff,"  assented  the  voice  of  steel. 
"The  majority  will  soon  be  sifted  out  and  the  elimina- 
tion will  be  profitable  to  the  survival  of  the  fit. ' ' 

"You  mean  they  will  die.     Some  look  dead  already." 

' '  Exactly !  I  ought  to  know  after  all  I  went  through 
with  those  swinish  Poles  quite  recently.  These  deporta- 
tions are  being  carried  out  on  the  same  lines." 

Rosen  made  no  further  comment.  Indeed,  if  so  be  he 
had  felt  any  compassion  at  all  he  would  still  have  been 
compelled  to  hold  his  hands.  Such  were  his  own  orders 
from  head-quarters.  A  passive  role  was  to  be  his  under 
any  circumstances.  Notwithstanding  he  drove  away 
even  less  satisfied  inwardly  than  before  he  visited  the 
spot. 

The  business  of  the  day  was  still  at  high  pressure  when 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        199 

he  reentered  the  Consulate.  "With  a  brief  inquisitorial 
glance  around  he  walked  through  the  outer  and  inner 
offices.  Near  the  furthest  door  a  clerk  rose  from  his 
desk  and  spoke  to  him  in  a  low  embarrassed  voice. 

Rosen  stopped  short.  "In  my  private  room.  That 
is  forbidden,"  he  snapped  out. 

"She  would  take  no  refusal  and  said  she  was  positive 
your  excellency  expected  her. ' ' 

The  Consul  glared  at  the  speaker,  pushed  aside  the 
curtain,  stared  into  the  room,  then  dropped  the  curtain 
behind  and  deliberately  closed  the  door. 

For  a  few  seconds  he  and  his  visitor  stood  face  to  face, 
silent  but  with  tense  hostility  in  the  attitude  of  each. 

"I  might  have  guessed  it  was  you,"  he  burst  out, 
' '  though  it  is  the  first  time  Mile.  Severin  has  honored  my 
private  office  with  a  visit.  What  can  I  do  for  her  ? ' ' 

Veronica  drew  herself  up  and  her  eyes  blazed  with 
passion. 

' '  Your  callousness  makes  the  blood  boil  in  my  veins, ' ' 
she  said,  her  voice  vibrating  with  the  deep  notes  of  her 
mother.  "Are  you  a  monster  that  you  can  stand  there 
with  such  words  in  your  mouth  instead  of  showing  shame 
or  some  small  degree  of  compunction  for  your  cruel  and 
pitiless  conduct  to  Zia?" 

"So  you  know  more  than  I  do  about  the  little  cat?" 
he  said,  coming  forward  with  a  low  unpleasant  laugh. 
"This  shall  be  inquired  into." 

' '  In  order  that  you  may  torture  me  too  ? ' '  she  flashed 
back.  ' '  I  warn  you  in  advance  that  nothing  you  or  your 
unspeakable  friends  the  Turks  can  do  to  me  would  ever 
make  me  unseal  my  lips. ' ' 

Every  word  she  uttered  was  barbed  with  scorn  and 
bitterness.  His  breast  heaved,  an  ugly  light  glowed  in 


200       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

his  eyes.    Revenge  was  dearer  to  him  at  the  moment  than 
love. 

"What  is  your  business  with  me?"  he  asked  roughly. 
"You  have  not  come  solely  to  taunt  and  defy  me.  If  it 
is  some  favor  you  desire  of  me  you  must  mend  your 
manners. ' ' 

"Favor  of  you?  Never!  I  simply  claim  a  right  that 
you  took  voluntarily  upon  yourself  when  you  promised 
Nicholas  to  protect  the  interests  of  his  family.  You 
have  not  yet  forsworn  your  word  though  you  have  al- 
lowed his  child  to  be  tortured,"  she  said  at  white  heat. 
"Whatever  else  I  may  have  thought  of  you  I  never  re- 
garded you  as  less  than  a  man  of  honor." 

His  lips  twitched  grimly.  "What  do  you  want?"  he 
asked. 

She  placed  a  document  on  the  table  before  him. 

"Your  signature  as  well  as  that  of  the  American  Con- 
sul which  is  there  already.  He  knows  your  long  inti- 
macy with  my  family  and  the  weight  of  German  influence 
in  Syria  at  the  present  hour.  It  was  he  who  counseled 
me  to  pay  you  this  visit.  You  know  already  that  during 
my  brother's  absence  we  had  arranged  to  shut  up  our 
house  and  leave  Opella." 

"Why  should  I  do  at  Mr.  Luce's  request  what  you  do 
not  ask  for  yourself?" 

"Ah!  why  indeed!  That  is  a  question  for  your  inner 
conscience  to  answer, ' '  she  said,  a  sudden  access  of  grief 
catching  her  voice.  "Will  you  sign  it ?  Are  you  willing 
to  show  that  you  still  possess  some  trace  of  the  humanity 
Khamil  Pasha  tried  to  shake  out  of  you?" 

Her  blue  eyes  fixed  steadily  upon  him  looked  black 
against  the  pallor  of  her  face.  Drawn  to  her  full  height, 
the  black  mantle  of  the  East  open  and  falling  in  long 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        201 

lines  on  each  side  of  her  figure,  her  veil  thrown  back  over 
her  hair,  she  faced  him  like  an  avenging  angel. 

The  sight  of  her  standing  there  so  close  to  him  bodily, 
yet  in  everything  else  immeasurably  far  away,  still  had 
power  to  move  him.  In  the  grip  of  something  greater 
than  his  will  he  took  the  document  in  his  hand. 

lie  read  it  mechanically  while  a  distracting  tumult  of 
ideas  fought  in  his  brain.  Let  her  go  away  from  Opella 
and  perhaps  from  him  for  all  time?  Yet  if  she  stayed 
would  she  ever  be  his  ?  Besides  he  no  longer  wanted  her. 
He  hated  her.  Then  let  her  go!  It  was  the  only  wise 
course.  Yet  what  about  revenge  for  her  duplicity  ?  At 
any  rate  she  was  definitely  separated  from  the  French- 
man, whom  in  time  she  would  certainly  forget.  But  then 
if  she  went  away  the  personality  of  Otto  Rosen  might 
also  fade  into  oblivion.  On  the  other  hand  if  she  re- 
mained in  Opella  circumstances  would  soon  drive  her  to 
see  what  a  useful  and  indispensable  part  he  still  played 
in  her  life,  and  how  he  alone  would  have  power  to  save 
her  from  the  impending  avalanche  of  disaster. 

Could  he,  even  now  that  he  hated  her,  endure  to  see 
her  one  of  such  a  throng  as  that  massed  on  the  market 
place?  And  if  so  would  not  her  fate  be  one  of  inde- 
scribable shame  and  torture  ?  Could  any  punishment  be 
worse?  Yet — yet — he  looked  at  her  suddenly  with 
hunger  in  his  eyes. 

"I  am  waiting  for  your  signature,"  she  said,  stung 
into  speech  by  that  look  of  craving  and  appraisement 
which  made  him  own  brother  to  the  Turk. 

He  continued  to  observe  her  silently  for  a  moment, 
making  perhaps  a  final  calculation,  undergoing  a  last 
short  struggle  of  conflicting  passions.  Then  he  sat  down 
at  his  desk,  used  his  pen,  carefully  blotted  what  he  had 


202        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

written,  stood  up  and  handed  the  paper  triumphantly 
to  Veronica. 

Without  giving  it  a  look  she  folded  it  up  and  read- 
justed her  mantle. 

' '  Thank  you, ' '  she  said,  coldly,  and  turned  to  go. 

"You  had  better  read  it  first,"  he  said,  hurriedly. 

She  stopped  short  regarding  him  with  surprise  and 
suspicion,  then  with  nimble  fingers  spread  open  the  docu- 
ment. He  watched  her  furtively  and  noted  with  secret 
satisfaction  the  sudden  flush  which  dyed  her  face  as 
her  eyes  traveled  rapidly  along  the  lines. 

"Oh!"  she  exclaimed.  "Oh!  I  might  have  expected 
it  of  you." 

He  had  carefully  erased  her  name  from  the  permit, 
making  it  available  solely  for  Mme.  Severin,  Zia  and  one 
female  servant. 

"You  mean  me  to  take  my  chance?"  she  asked,  looking 
at  him  very  fixedly.  "I  have  no  objection  to  running 
the  risk." 

"You  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  he  retorted.  "I 
mean  you  to  stay  in  Opella.  What  your  mother  does  is 
quite  immaterial  to  me." 

"You  cannot  compel  me  to  stay  against  my  will." 

"If  you  go  have  you  realized  what  may  happen  to 
you  ?  Do  you  know  the  kind  of  sight  to  be  viewed  to-day 
on  the  market  square?" 

Veronica  blenched.  "I  do,  I  have  seen  it,"  she  said, 
huskily.  ' '  My  poor  people !  Once  again  the  martyrs  of 
humanity. ' ' 

"Veronica!  Veronica!"  he  cried,  getting  up  and 
coming  near.  She  put  up  her  hands  palms  outward  as 
if  to  ward  off  his  approach.  "From  all  this  I  mean  to 
safeguard  you." 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        203 

"I  have  no  need  of  your  protection,"  she  said  with 
dignity,  quickly  mastering  her  emotion  and  again  turn- 
ing to  the  door. 

Baffled  and  goaded  to  the  madness  of  betrayal  he  called 
after  her.  "You  need  not  reckon  on  another  chance 
encounter  with  your  French  lover!"  In  his  voice 
sounded  a  note  of  triumph. 

Swift  as  a  flash  Veronica  turned  on  him.  "What  do 
you  mean?"  she  said,  fiercely. 

"That  you  will  never  see  him  again.  I  have  taken 
care  of  that." 

She  gave  a  curious  little  choked  cry  and  grew  deadly 
pale.  Her  whole  frame  shook.  She  stepped  forward  to 
grasp  for  support  the  edge  of  the  table.  Hosts  of  ques- 
tions looked  from  her  eyes,  big  at  last  with  terror  though 
not  for  her  own  danger.  Suddenly  she  drew  herself  up 
and  advanced,  her  eyes  now  ablaze  with  fury  and  pas- 
sionate hatred. 

"If  you  have  hurt  him  I  will  kill  you,"  she  said  in  a 
hard,  level  voice. 

"Hurt  him?  Oh  dear  no,  do  not  trouble  yourself, 
though  if  he  got  his  deserts  he  would  suffer  the  death 
that  all  the  cursed  French  race  merit  at  our  hands." 

She  drew  in  her  breath  sharply.  "What  have  you 
done  with  him?"  she  demanded. 

"He  enjoys  a  position  at  the  present  moment  that  will 
ensure  to  him  in  years  to  come  the  same  heroic  halo  of 
sanctity  enjoyed  to-day  by  the  prisoners  of  Amasia 
fame.  You  remember  that  pretty  little  story  of  the 
newspapers,  for  we  read  it  together,  and  how  it  touched 
and  elevated  our  souls." 

She  looked  at  him,  dazed,  dumb,  while  her  mind 
labored  heavily  under  the  effect  of  the  culminating  foul 


204        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

blow.  Pierre  was  a  prisoner  somewhere.  That  was  the 
pivot  on  which  everything  else  turned.  He  must  have 
been  seen  and  captured  after  leaving  the  house. 
Vaguely  she  recalled  the  cry  she  had  heard  when  wait- 
ing at  the  gate.  It  had  happened  then  she  was  certain. 
Kosen  did  not  know  for  he  was  then  in  the  house  with 
Nicholas,  but  he  must  have  known  later,  and  that  ex- 
plained his  continued  silence  and  absence.  As  she 
mustered  these  facts  and  surmises  together  her  mind 
cleared,  her  energy  of  soul  returned.  Not  only  for  her 
mother  and  Zia's  sake  had  she  still  to  struggle  with  Otto 
Eosen,  but  now  more  than  ever  on  account  of  Pierre. 

"Amasia  is  too  far  from  Opella.  You  cannot  have 
sent  him  there, ' '  she  said,  speaking  quietly  by  a  supreme 
effort  of  will. 

"There  are  tombs  everywhere  in  Asiatic  Turkey,"  he 
said,  evasively. 

"Yes,  God  knows  the  Turk  carries  death  wherever  he 
rules,"  was  her  prompt  retort. 

He  made  no  comment,  but  his  eyes  watching  her 
closely,  held  for  a  brief  moment  the  accusing  eyes  of  the 
girl.  Then  their  glance  shifted. 

"You  will  be  punished,"  she  said,  suddenly.  "No 
man  can  do  what  you  have  done  and  escape  retribution. 
Destiny  will  take  her  revenge  on  you  when  least  ex- 
pected." 

He  got  up  with  a  new  access  of  anger,  stirred  against 
his  will  by  the  prediction. 

"This  interview  must  cease,"  he  said,  harshly.  "Re- 
member you  will  stay  on  in  Opella  unless  you  wish  to 
endanger  your  mother's  safety.  Tell  her  if  you  like 
that  I  will  take  means  to  safeguard  your  house." 

Veronica  opened  her  lips  to  speak  but  second  thoughts 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        205 

held  her  silent.  She  drew  the  veil  over  her  face, 
fastened  her  mantle  and  left  the  room.  As  she  crossed 
the  court  the  kawass  of  the  American  consulate  came 
forward  from  the  arcade  and  followed  her  out.  Mr. 
Luce  had  taken  no  risks. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HOW  silent  the  house,  and  void  of  all  that  gave  forth 
the  home  feeling !  Veronica  sat  in  it  alone  but  for 
an  old  native  woman,  pottering  over  odd  jobs,  left  undone 
in  the  hurry  of  Amina's  exodus  with  her  mistress  and 
Zia.  A  couple  of  hours  had  gone  by  since  these  had 
driven  through  the  town  gates  in  the  American  Consul's 
carriage,  to  embark  on  the  way  of  escape  arranged  by 
John  Culver.  Even  the  Consul  and  his  wife  approved 
of  the  plan  after  hearing  with  horror  of  Zia's  ordeal 
and  the  startling  attitude  of  Herr  R6sen.  It  was  cer- 
tainly more  prudent  to  slip  away  in  a  manner  unlikely 
to  be  suspected  than  to  run  open  risks  through  the 
journey  by  diligence. 

Veronica  had  only  come  back  to  the  house  to  wind  up 
certain  household  matters  and  to  gather  into  as  small 
a  compass  as  possible  the  personal  belongings  needful 
for  a  visit.  For  Mrs.  Luce  had  insisted  upon  her  accept- 
ing the  hospitality  of  the  consulate  until  a  safe  way  of 
rejoining  her  family  should  open  out. 

She  was  ready  now  to  be  fetched.  Any  moment  the 
gate  bell  might  summon  her  away.  This  was  the  first 
definite  pause  for  reflection  since  the  moment  she  had 
left  Otto  Rosen's  office.  Of  his  threats  she  had  told  her 
mother  only  enough  to  show  valid  reason  for  remaining 
behind,  disliking  to  add  to  her  anxieties,  and  fearing 
that  if  she  knew  all  no  persuasion  would  have  procured 
her  consent  to  such  an  arrangement. 

Quite  apart  from  the  chance  of  increased  danger  for 

206 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        207 

her  mother  Veronica  had  wished  beyond  anything  to  re- 
main behind.  It  was  her  only  chance  of  discovering 
anything  vital  about  Pierre. 

Where  was  he  ?  A  sheltering  roof  for  herself  counted 
nothing  against  the  certainty  of  the  perils  through  which 
he  had  passed  and  must  still  be  undergoing.  The  mere 
thought  of  that  prison  tomb  of  Amasia  iced  her  blood 
with  fear  and  grief.  She  seemed  overweighted  with  an 
unbearable  burden  from  which  for  the  moment  there 
seemed  not  the  smallest  hope  of  release. 

What  a  dreadful  day  to  look  back  upon !  Menace 
from  all  sides,  dangers  positive,  and  apprehensions  of 
worse  to  come.  Thank  God,  the  little  mother  was  mak- 
ing a  bid  for  safety  with  Zia  and  the  heroic  Amina. 
That  any  project  engineered  by  John  Culver  must  con- 
tain seeds  of  success  for  its  achievement  was  guaranteed 
by  the  wonderful  way  in  which,  so  far,  he  had  outwitted 
the  authorities  and  evaded  capture. 

She  shivered,  feeling  forcibly  that  there  was  even  a 
craftier  brain  than  his  at  work,  a  stronger  hand  manipu- 
lating abominable  plots  to  suppress,  coerce,  and  torture 
all  fellow  creatures  that  crossed  the  workings  of  its 
many  monstrous  and  ambitious  schemes. 

For  she  was  waking  fearfully,  though  defiantly,  to  the 
reality  of  the  ghastly  power  and  trickery  of  German 
secret  machinations  at  work  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  Turkish  empire.  It  was  a  German  who 
had  courtmartialed  Murad  against  the  commandant's 
wish ;  a  German  who  had  tortured  Zia  after  himself  kid- 
naping her  by  a  ruse ;  a  German  who  had  devised  the 
character  of  Pierre's  prison  and  gloated  over  his  terrible 
plight.  It  was  a  German  who,  riding  by  Ahmed  Pasha 's 


208        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

side,  had  gazed  unmoved,  mockingly,  callously,  at  the 
misery  of  those  unhappy  people  on  the  market  square. 

In  her  eyes  these  were  but  types  of  that  vast  horde  of 
Germans  without  heart  or  soul  who  were  destroying 
beautiful  France  in  the  brutal  and  barbarous  fashion  of 
which  Pierre  Marson  fresh  from  home  had  given 
them  a  passionately  vivid  summary,  setting  their  blood 
on  fire. 

If  only  she  had  some  certainty  regarding  the  true  fate 
of  her  lover!  How  to  obtain  it  was  a  matter  in  which 
Mr.  Luce  might  help  her.  A  prisoner  was  after  all  an 
individual  to  be  accounted  for.  Here  Veronica  forgot  to 
take  into  account,  herself,  that  Pierre  must  have  been 
arrested  in  the  guise  of  a  spy,  and  that  it  would  be  almost 
a  miracle  for  him  to  have  escaped  death.  He  was  not 
dead,  she  assured  herself,  unless  Otto  Rosen  had  pur- 
posely deceived  her. 

It  was  some  alleviation  to  know  that  her  mother  would 
tell  John  everything ;  for  she  did  not  doubt  but  that  John 
himself  would  be  in  charge  of  the  fugitives.  He  would 
carry  them  to  some  safe  hiding  place,  and  perhaps  before 
long  devise  a  means  of  flight  for  herself. 

Was  that  the  bell?  She  started  up  and  ran  into  her 
own  room  for  a  last  look  round.  She  carried  a  small 
handbag  containing  the  most  valuable  of  her  jewels, 
her  money  and  a  few  other  important  details.  A  thought 
struck  her,  and  she  at  once,  for  greater  security,  hid  it 
away  on  her  person  as  she  had  always  done  when  going 
on  a  journey.  Then  she  picked  up  her  traveling  bag 
and  sundry  small  packages  and  came  out  to  wait  in  the 
lewan. 

The  door  opened  suddenly  revealing  the  startled  face 
of  the  native  woman.  "There  are  soldiers  at  the  gate," 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        209 

she  said,  breathlessly,  in  little  more  than  a  whisper,  her 
eyes  glittering. 

Veronica's  courage  stood  firm  in  spite  of  all  she  had 
gone  through,  but  while  not  a  muscle  moved  every  drop 
of  blood  left  her  face  as  for  a  moment  she  stared  at  the 
door. 

"Allah!  They  are  here — close  behind  me,"  said  the 
woman  in  a  scared  voice. 

Slowly  Veronica  put  down  the  bag  and  again  turned 
to  the  door.  As  long  as  Otto  Rosen  had  no  part  in  this 
new  attack  of  fate  she  felt  she  could  yet  face  it  with 
unbroken  front.  Of  this  she  was  soon  assured.  It  was 
a  Turkish  officer  who  entered  while  the  soldiers,  four  in 
number,  filled  the  doorway.  She  looked  at  the  officer 
with  all  her  keen  wits  in  her  eyes. 

' '  I  must  trouble  you  to  come  with  me,  mademoiselle, ' ' 
he  said,  distantly.  ' '  I  have  brought  a  carriage  for  you. 
It  waits  at  the  gate." 

"The  carriage  of  the  American  Consul  should  also  be 
waiting  for  me.  There  must  be  some  mistake,"  she  said 
in  a  slow  but  steady  voice.  ' '  I  am  expected  at  his  house 
on  a  visit.  It  is  an  engagement  I  must  not  break." 

"My  orders  come  from  the  Pasha  himself.  It  is  his 
wish  that  you  come  away  now  under  my  escort  without 
inconvenience  to  yourself." 

' '  Which  Pasha  ?  And  how  can  I  know  that  you  hold 
his  orders?" 

"His  Excellency,  Ahmed  Pasha,  our  commandant.  I 
advise  you  to  come  without  resistance,  mademoiselle, ' '  he 
said,  significantly. 

"Where  are  you  going  to  take  me?" 

He  bowed  with  a  little  outward  gesture  of  the  hands. 
"I  beg  you  to  come  with  no  further  delay,"  he  said. 


210       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"I  can  take  these  with  me  of  course,"  she  said  in  a 
stately  manner,  indicating  the  bag  and  her  packages. 

1 '  Certainly,  mademoiselle !  Here  Hussein,  carry  these 
things  carefully  to  the  carriage." 

Her  mind  temporarily  at  a  standstill  was  utterly  un- 
able to  account  for  this  singular  and  unlooked  for  twist 
of  affairs.  She  made  her  way  silently  through  the  gar- 
den to  be  overtaken  at  the  gate  by  a  feeling  of  panic. 
She  drew  back  suddenly  as  if  she  had  just  discovered  a 
precipice  opening  at  her  feet.  In  a  moment  she  sum- 
moned up  fresh  courage  and  seeing  that  resistance  was 
hopeless  she  entered  the  carriage.  The  door  was  closed, 
she  heard  the  clatter  of  horses'  hoofs,  a  sharp  word  of 
command,  and  they  had  started.  She  was  alone,  the 
officer  and  his  escort  riding. 

Her  heart  beat  to  suffocation.  She  felt  that  some  un- 
known climax  was  at  hand.  Nothing  she  could  do  had 
power  to  stop  it  unless — her  hand  crept  into  her  bosom 
clutching  at  something  concealed. 

The  more  she  thought  of  the  situation  the  uglier  it 
seemed.  Ahmed  Pasha!  What  had  John  said?  That 
the  pasha  knew  her  well  by  sight.  He  had  seen  her  in 
the  summer  hotel.  She  called  Rosen  to  mind  and  her 
fatal  influence  over  him,  and  how  Pierre  had  declared 
he  had  loved  her  at  first  sight. 

Momentarily  she  would  have  scratched  and  disfigured 
her  own  face  if  that  would  have  made  its  beauty  of  no 
account.  For  she  was  no  fool  to  ignore  the  value  of  a 
woman's  fair  face,  or  the  fact  that  her  own  had  power 
to  move  men  in  a  way  of  which  she  possessed  ample 
proof.  From  the  opposite  standpoint  beauty  was  an 
asset  in  swaying  the  wills  of  men,  and  added  to  fearless- 
ness and  ready  wit  conveyed  a  magnetism  which  she  had 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        211 

more  than  once  found  potent  to  use  as  oil  on  angry 
waters,  and  to  gain  her  own  way. 

' '  Courage,  bien-aimee ! ' '  she  crooned  under  her  breath 
as  a  charm  to  soothe  her  own  mental  disturbance;  and 
she  leaned  back  folding  her  arms  closely  together,  as  if  to 
brace  body  and  soul,  to  meet  she  knew  not  what  fresh 
ordeal. 

The  closely  shuttered  windows  gave  back  no  inkling 
of  the  way  or  its  direction,  only  there  seemed  more  than 
one  sharp  turning  and  the  jolting  of  the  latter  part  of 
the  drive  was  atrocious. 

The  carriage  stopped.  She  heard  the  voice  of  the 
Turkish  officer  requesting  her  to  alight  and  follow  him. 
Night  had  fallen.  Though  the  gate  was  narrow  and  low, 
through  which  they  entered  after  climbing  a  steep  path- 
way, a  building  towered,  menacing  and  massive  above 
her,  as  a  prison.  Crossing  the  flagstones  of  a  small 
closed  courtyard  by  the  light  of  a  lantern  she  felt  that 
she  had  in  truth  entered  some  jail,  so  forbidding  the 
shadows,  and  strong  the  walls  about  her. 

A  flight  of  steps  brought  them  out  under  a  colonnade 
whence  they  plunged  into  a  vaulted  passage.  Veronica, 
at  pains  in  the  gloom  to  keep  her  footing,  had  followed 
her  guide  with  downcast  eyes,  but  just  then  light  falling 
from  an  interior  diverted  her  gaze.  She  half  paused, 
startled  by  the  dart  of  a  sudden  suspicion,  which  steadily 
grew  with  every  onward  step. 

Another  steep  stairway  down  which  the  moonlight 
strayed  to  meet  her,  and  this  suspicion  became  a  cer- 
tainty. They  had  brought  her  to  El  Fereidus,  the  home 
of  the  Culvers.  Now  she  came  out  on  the  top  of  the 
house,  on  the  terrace  of  the  upper  room,  of  the  tent, 
and  the  flowers  and  trees. 


212        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Familiarity  with  her  surroundings  restored  a  momen- 
tary calm  of  spirit.  This  was  before  reflection  painted 
the  isolation,  the  helplessness  of  her  position  cut  off 
from  all  means  of  exit  but  by  way  of  the  stairs.  A  lamp 
burned  in  the  upper  room  where  the  persiennes  were 
closed. 

"Mademoiselle  will  be  treated  in  every  way  as  a  guest 
of  honor  provided  she  makes  no  attempt  to  descend  the 
stairs,"  said  the  officer,  stiffly.  "The  guest  room  is 
made  ready  for  her  use.  She  has  but  to  express  her 
wishes  to  the  attendant  and  all  in  reason  shall  be  al- 
lowed." 

Several  questions  hovered  on  her  lips,  but  only  one 
escaped.  "Am  I  alone  on  the  terrace?" 

' '  Yes !  You  will  be  undisturbed.  You  can  rest  tran- 
quilly. ' '  He  saluted  distantly  and  went  down  the  stairs. 

To  Veronica,  overwrought  in  body  and  mind  at  the 
close  of  an  exhausting  day,  there  came  reaction  in  the 
form  of  a  wave  of  fierce  homesickness.  With  sudden 
anguish  she  thought  of  her  mother  to  whom  she  had 
turned  in  every  trouble  right  through  her  life.  Directly 
this  tired  feeling  had  passed  away  she  would  go  to  the 
further  terrace  and  look  out  over  the  river.  What  if 
by  some  happy  chance  she  were  to  see  the  little  boat 
slipping  to  safety  through  the  moonlight? 

But  not  yet,  for  positively  she  must  rest  a  while. 

She  dropped  on  a  narrow  divan  near  the  door  and 
leaned  her  head  listlessly  against  the  low  persiennes  be- 
hind, the  unhappiness  and  strain  of  her  eyes  hidden 
under  closed  lids,  her  hands  locked  tightly  on  her  knees. 

Scarcely  had  the  sound  of  the  descending  footsteps  died 
away  than  an  old  woman  made  her  appearance,  bearing  a 
tray  with  coffee  and  a  variety  of  cakes  and  a  jar  of  drink- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        213 

ing  water.  She  saluted  Veronica  politely,  and  at  once 
set  about  serving  her,  after  which  she  sat  cross-legged 
on  the  floor,  watching  with  a  mixture  of  curiosity  and 
admiration  in  her  shrewd  old  eyes. 

After  drinking  the  coffee  eagerly,  and  then  quenching 
her  thirst  by  a  long  draught  of  water,  Veronica  was 
able  to  smile  at  the  old  woman  and  to  thank  her  for  the 
attention. 

"Your  words  are  of  gold,  hanoum  effendi,"  came  in 
obsequious  reply.  "Remember  in  your  happiness  that 
I  am  always  your  faithful  servant.  I  have  made  ready 
your  bed.  In  the  morning  when  you  are  refreshed  with 
sleep  I  will  tie  your  hair,  and  make  you  beautiful  for 
the  visit  of  your  lord.  Bismallah,  you  are  in  luck's 
way!" 

"I  shall  not  forget  your  willing  services,"  said  Ver- 
onica, guardedly,  her  worst  suspicions  confirmed.  "Bet- 
ter days  will  come  for  all  when  the  guns  of  war  have 
ceased  to  speak." 

"Ai!  Two  fighting  sons  I  have  given  to  feed  the 
Sultan's  army,"  cried  the  woman,  diverted  instantly  to 
a  personal  outlook.  "Allah  grant  that  I  may  See  them 
once  again  before  I  die. ' ' 

"I,  too,  will  pray  that  this  boon  be  granted  you.  In 
Allah's  day  Allah  will  restore  them  to  your  arms. 
Patience  triumphs  over  all  misfortunes. ' ' 

The  woman  caught  Veronica's  hand  and  pressed  it  to 
her  lips  and  her  breast.  "I  could  feel  it  in  my  soul  to 
die  for  you,  0  lady, ' '  she  said,  earnestly. 

Shortly  the  old  woman  withdrew  after  protesting 
afresh  her  devotion  to  the  new  mistress.  She  assured! 
Veronica  by  the  soul  of  her  mother  that  she  would  be 
left  to  slumber  in  peace,  that  the  terrace  from  end  to 


214        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

end  was  at  her  sole  disposal.  Orders  had  come  from 
very  high  quarters  to  meet  the  Sitt  Hanoum's  desires 
in  all  possible  ways. 

Left  alone  Veronica  became  restless.  She  was  afraid 
of  the  lamplight  and  eyed  with  deep  distrust  the  orna- 
mental bed  with  its  Oriental  hangings  and  coverlet  of 
Tyrian  blue  silk. 

A  sudden  thought  of  the  Bedouin  tent  gave  her  more 
confidence.  Extinguishing  the  light  and  taking  up 
her  bag  she  drew  aside  the  curtain  over  the  doorway  and 
stepped  into  the  open. 

The  air  was  mild  and  perfumed.  Moon  sheen  trans- 
figured the  flowers  and  trees  of  the  terrace  with  a  fairy- 
like  beauty  that  was  strangely  stirring.  The  sand  on 
the  other  side  of  the  trellissade  glistened  like  frost  in 
front  of  the  home-like  little  tent.  Through  the  embra- 
sure in  the  wall  beyond,  the  river  could  be  seen,  lying  like 
a  silver  snake  in  the  lap  of  the  moon-swept  land. 

She  sat  down  on  the  parapet  with  every  thought  fixed 
for  the  moment  on  what  the  morrow  might  bring  forth. 
Dread  lay  heavy  on  her  shoulders.  It  was  useless  to 
harbor  any  notion  of  instant  succor,  for  it  might  be  days 
—if  ever — it  became  known  what  had  become  of  her. 
In  those  days,  somber  and  terrifying  enough  to  antici- 
pate, what  evil  might  not  be  lying  concealed  to  pounce 
out  and  confound  her,  body  and  soul? 

There  had  been  another  carriage  in  the  lane  when  she 
was  taken  away.  Mr.  Luce  would  surely  glean  from  his 
servants  an  idea  of  what  had  occurred.  What  could  he 
do  to  aid  a  Turkish  subject  in  face  of  a  power  like  Ahmed 
Pasha?  Appeal  to  Otto  Rosen? 

A  shudder  convulsed  her  at  the  bare  suggestion.  Yet 
soon  she  came  back  to  the  idea.  Rosen  had  become  a 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        215 

power.  Besides  he  alone  could  divulge  where  Pierre 
Marson  was  entombed. 

Another  point  struck  her.  "Was  the  old  woman  vul- 
nerable like  so  many  of  her  kind?  If  so  how  could  she 
be  used?  Veronica  knew  all  the  strong  points  of  the 
house  and  that  no  chances  had  been  taken  by  John  Cul- 
ver, and  his  father  before  him,  regarding  the  security  of 
the  isolated  house.  It  was  no  more  easy  to  get  out  than 
to  get  in  this  strongly  built  dwelling  of  the  rock  cliff 
except  by  the  free  will  of  those  in  possession. 

To-night  she  was  so  tired,  so  painfully  tired,  that  her 
mind  was  only  equal  to  starting  ideas  and  then  running 
them  to  ground  without  definite  pursuit.  She  could  have 
wept  for  very  weariness  but  a  something  unconquerable 
within  held  her  from  actual  collapse. 

Yet  she  was  chilled  to  the  heart  with  foreboding  as 
again  she  looked  out  over  the  moonlit  spaces,  thinking  of 
her  lover  and  the  other  loved  ones,  all  in  the  gravest 
jeopardy. 

' '  They  do  not  know  I  am  here.  They  will  think  I  am 
safe  under  Mr.  Luce 's  roof.  Wait !  wait !  do  not  leave  me 
here  alone, ' '  she  murmured  to  the  distant  river. 

Then  suddenly  she  clasped  her  hands  and  prayed  with 
her  whole  soul,  that  the  God  above  who  ruled  that  vast 
universe  of  the  moon  and  the  stars,  would  save  them  one 
and  all  from  the  many  and  great  dangers  by  which  they 
were  surrounded,  and  that  with  His  help  and  under  His 
guidance  she  might  yet  be  able  to  discover  a  way  of 
escape  for  herself. 

Then  she  approached  the  little  tent,  lifted  the  canvas 
flaps  and  peered  inside.  It  cost  her  an  effort  to  explore 
the  interior.  Her  surexcited  nerves  created  apprehen- 
sions which  beat  about  her  thick  as  bats  in  a  forsaken 


216       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

vault,  but  she  found  silence  and  the  lingering  essence  of 
memories  to  be  her  sole  companions. 

She  pulled  forward  a  mattress  and  cushions  and  placed 
them  in  the  entrance,  took  off  her  shoes,  drew  the  pins 
out  of  her  hair  and  combed  it  into  one  long  plait.  Then 
conquered  by  fatigue  she  lay  down  and  fell  asleep. 
More  than  once  she  moaned  as  if  rehearsing  in  her 
dreams  the  struggles  of  the  day,  but  oblivion  soon  held 
her  still  as  one  dead. 

The  silence  and  loneliness  were  profound.  A  dimness 
spread  over  the  terrace  as  the  shadow  of  the  high  cliff 
stole  stealthily  forward.  Before  the  outline  of  the  palm 
trees  became  entirely  blurred  into  the  rocks  behind  some- 
thing black  and  tall  moved  away  from  them,  and  dropped 
noiselessly  to  the  ground.  Soon  there  came  a  light,  very 
light,  sound  as  of  an  animal  moving  cautiously. 

Veronica  lifted  her  head  suddenly  with  a  quick  drawn 
breath.  A  flash  of  intuition  had  penetrated  her  sleep- 
ing senses. 

She  strained  her  ears  to  listen  to  a  peculiar  rustling 
sound  at  the  side  of  the  tent.  In  an  instant  she  had 
sprung  lightly  to  her  feet  and  was  listening  intently  at 
the  canvas  wall.  All  at  once  she  started  back  with  a 
stifled  cry  as,  just  discernible  in  the  dim  light,  the  head 
and  shoulders  of  a  man  suddenly  thrust  themselves  under 
the  turned  up  canvas. 

' '  Hoosh !  In  Allah 's  name ! ' '  murmured  a  voice.  ' '  It 
is  none  other  than  your  brother,  All. ' ' 

The  relief  was  so  intense  and  unexpected  that  Veron- 
ica's limbs  gave  way  under  her.  She  dropped  in  a 
huddled  heap  to  the  floor  staring  at  him  speechless.  A 
little  sob  bursting  from  her  lips  broke  the  spell  of  stupe- 
faction. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        217 

"Ali,  you  have  come  to  save  me,"  she  whispered. 
"Tell  me  how  you  have  evaded  the  guard  below." 

' '  I  have  seen  no  guards, ' '  he  said  in  a  low  voice.  ' '  No 
one  in  the  house  knows  the  door  by  which  I  came  in. ' ' 

She  looked  anxiously  into  the  open.  "If  some  one 
were  to  come  now  and  find  you  here ! ' '  she  said,  tremu- 
lously. 

His  white  teeth  gleamed.  "No  one  will  come.  They 
fear  the  spirits  of  the  house  top  at  night.  It  is  haunted 
they  say." 

Veronica  shivered.     "It  is  not  true,"  she  whispered. 

' '  Allah,  no ! "  he  answered  quickly.  ' '  The  mother  and 
child  who  are  said  to  walk  here  when  it  is  dark  are  safe 
in  our  tents." 

' '  Then  Zorah  and  the  boy  are  alive  and  well  ?  Heaven 
be  praised!" 

' '  They  are  as  well  as  you  will  be  very  soon. ' ' 

"How  did  you  find  me?" 

"Sitt  Anna,  your  mother,  sent  me  with  a  message  to 
say  that  Hanna  was  with  them,  and  that  he  would  make 
a  plan  for  you  to  join  them  in  a  short  time.  I  was  com- 
ing to  the  house  when  I  saw  you  enter  the  carriage.  It 
was  easy  to  follow.  I  knew  you  would  need  me. ' ' 

"Have  you  been  all  these  weeks  with  Hanna?" 

' '  Yes,  it  was  our  men  who  planned  his  escape  from  the 
prison.  Mashallah!  the  Beni-Weldeh  have  powerful 
friends  in  Esh  Shems,"  he  said,  proudly. 

Veronica's  mind  leaped  at  once  to  Pierre.  If  the 
Bedouins  had  engineered  John  Culver's  escape  why 
could  they  not  be  induced  to  find  out  and  free  another 
prisoner  ?  Was  it  possible  to  unite  her  own  escape  with 
a  parallel  effort  to  free  her  lover?  Yet  first  it  was  es- 
sential to  discover  where  he  was  imprisoned. 


218       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Listen,  Ali,  I  have  much  to  tell  you,"  she  said,  ear- 
nestly. "How  long  can  you  dare  to  stay?" 

"One  hour,  perhaps  two  hours,  for  this  night  you 
cannot  come  away  with  me.  I  came  to  give  you  con- 
fiedence  in  the  help  of  your  friends  and  to  bid  you  to  be 
ready.  To-morrow  night  I  will  bring  a  Bedouin  dress 
for  you  to  wear,  and  before  daybreak  the  next  day  we 
shall  be  so  far  on  our  road  that  none  will  be  able  to  find 
or  overtake  us. ' ' 

"Please  God,"  said  Veronica,  hopefully,  feeling  as  if  a 
breath  of  cool  fresh  air  suddenly  played  on  her  burning 
head.  At  once  she  began  to  talk  about  Pierre  Marson 
and  the  manner  of  his  imprisonment. 

The  tale  she  unfolded  was  of  the  romantic  kind  in 
which  the  Bedouin  mind  revels.  For  they  are  in  com- 
plete sympathy  with  desperate  love  affairs,  especially 
those  which,  following  the  example  of  Antar  and  Leila, 
involve  much  fighting  and  arms  and  horses,  and  above  all 
a  free  exercise  of  intrigue  and  cunning  to  carry  them 
through  successfully. 

"By  Allah,  if  he  were  in  Gehenna  itself  I  will  have 
him  out,"  he  muttered  fiercely.  "Tell  me  only  where 
he  is,  and  a  message  shall  reach  him  even  though  he  be 
hidden  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth." 

"That  has  all  to  be  discovered." 

"Let  me  track  out  only  the  locality  and  it  will  be 
enough,"  he  said,  decisively. 

Ali's  boldness  scattered  to  the  wind  whole  nightmares 
of  distracting  fears.  Veronica  felt  she  could  now  face 
the  morrow  with  fortitude,  trusting  to  her  wits  and  her 
courage  to  bring  her  safely  through  the  long  hours  which 
must  intervene  before  Ali  came  again. 

She  impressed  upon  him  the  necessity  of  going  early 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        219 

to  the  American  Consul  to  tell  him  secretly  what  had 
befallen  her.  His  help  and  advice  would  be  invaluable. 
AH  had  wept  a  few  hours  ago  in  the  garden  over  the  evil 
fate  that  had  overtaken  his  friends.  He  was  now  on  fire 
to  work  on  Veronica's  behalf,  but  had  become  so  keen 
on  nosing  out  the  trail  of  the  Frenchman's  disappearance 
that  the  peril  waiting  on  the  girl's  own  escape  easily 
became  dwarfed.  Seeing  this  she  urged  him  to  stronger 
effort,  declaring  that  her  lover's  plight  far  exceeded  her 
own  in  danger,  and  that  the  sooner  a  plan  could  be 
woven  to  accomplish  his  deliverance  the  greater  the 
chances  of  finding  him  alive. 

Ali  sat  on  his  haunches,  his  head  thrown  back,  and  in 
his  eyes  the  wild  flicker  and  savor  of  the  chase,  pictur- 
ing the  fight  in  advance.  Hitherto  there  had  worked 
behind  him  the  cautious  brain  and  ingenuity  of  his 
English  brother-in-law,  but  Hanna  would  now  be  engaged 
for  some  days  on  the  anxious  task  of  piloting  Mme. 
Severin  and  Zia  to  the  home  of  their  relative.  To  Ali 
alone  would  fall  the  honors  of  this  new  enterprise.  He 
gloated  on  the  prospect,  scorning  the  hazard. 

"Be  ready  when  the  hour  comes,"  he  whispered,  rais- 
ing the  hem  of  her  cloak  and  pressing  it  to  his  lips  with 
wild  grace  upon  leaving.  "By  the  soul  of  my  mother 
I  will  make  you  a  way  of  escape. ' ' 

Noiselessly  as  he  had  come  so  he  vanished.  Too 
cautious  to  step  into  the  open  and  watch  him,  though 
intense  her  longing  to  ascertain  the  unknown  way  of  exit, 
she  rearranged  the  shifted  matting  where  he  had  entered 
and  again  lay  down  to  rest.  At  first  held  wakeful  by  the 
new  strain  of  excitement  and  the  buzzing  of  agitated 
hopes,  later,  she  fell  into  sound  sleep. 

She  was  awaked  by  a  weird  cry,  and  opening  her  eyes 


220        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

saw  the  old  woman,  her  jailor,  with  upraised  hands  and 
incredulous  eyes  standing  in  the  tent  entrance.  Ver- 
onica's brows  knitted  in  perplexity.  She  rose  to  a  sitting 
posture  and  looked  at  her  surroundings. 

"Where  am  I?"  she  exclaimed. 

' '  In  the  house  of  your  lord  who  will  make  you  happy 
and  be  good  to  you." 

Then  Veronica  remembered  and  shivered  slightly. 

"Give  me  food  and  coffee,  I  hunger,"  she  said,  "and 
later,  water  in  a  big  bowl,  that  I  may  wash." 

"Joy  of  my  eyes,  let  me  not  serve  you  here,"  ex- 
postulated the  woman.  "Come  back  to  the  guest 
chamber  where  all  is  ready.  Why  did  you  leave  your 
bed  ?  What  brought  you  here  ?  Was  it  an  evil  dream  ? ' ' 

"I  could  not  sleep  so  I  walked  on  the  terrace  to  smell 
the  air.  There  I  saw  this  tent  and  being  weary  I  rested 
for  a  few  minutes  and  fell  asleep. ' ' 

"You  saw  nothing  and  heard  nothing?" 

"The  voice  of  a  child  seemed  to  penetrate  my  dreams, 
otherwise  I  slept  well,"  said  Veronica,  noting  with  satis- 
faction the  start  and  furtive  side  glances  of  the  woman. 
More  than  ever  now  it  was  probable  she  would  be  left  in 
peace  to-night  on  the  house  top. 

But  there  were  the  hours  of  a  whole  long  day  to  wade 
through. 

Breakfast  over  she  allowed  the  woman  to  comb  out  and 
brush  her  long  hair,  but  then  dismissed  her,  for  the  oft 
repeated  suggestions  of  the  high  and  blissful  destiny  in 
store  for  so  much  beauty  soon  became  intolerable.  Soli- 
tude was  far  easier  to  endure. 

With  every  hour  that  passed  her  impatience  waxed. 
Though  she  spent  all  her  time  on  the  terrace  she  was 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        221 

afraid  to  search  for  the  door  by  which  All  came  lest 
some  unseen  eye  should  spy  upon  her. 

The  wildest  and  boldest  schemes  for  procuring  liberty 
for  Pierre  formed,  dispersed  and  reformed  in  her  active 
brain.  In  fancy  she  followed  Ali  to  the  American  con- 
sulate, and  conjectured  after  what  fashion  the  plans  for 
her  own  escape  would  be  woven. 

Then,  in  contemplating  her  own  flight,  imagination 
leaped  to  her  mother  and  to  the  unthinkable  torture  of 
little  Zia,  then  darted  aside  to  painful  scenes  witnessed 
on  the  market  place  and  in  the  souks,  and  on  to  her 
battle  with  Otto  Kosen. 

Concentration  on  any  one  subject  was  impossible,  so 
stirred  to  the  depths  her  emotions,  so  acute  the  pitch  of 
expectancy  to  which  every  nerve  was  tuned. 

Afternoon  crept  upon  her.  Soon  she  was  able  to  sit  in 
shadow  upon  the  parapet  of  the  break  in  the  walls,  and 
send  searching  eyes  into  the  distance.  The  freedom  of 
those  open  spaces  far  below,  the  winding  river,  and  the 
lavender  hills  beyond  called  to  her  with  insistent  voice. 
So  strong  came  the  call  from  the  precipice  directly 
beneath  that  at  last  she  had  to  close  her  eyes  and  press 
her  head  back  against  the  wall  while  mentally  she  gripped 
for  anchor  to  the  positive  hope  of  the  night. 

Yet  the  whole  time  in  guarding  against  one  danger  she 
had  vastly  troublous  feeling  that  another  more  deadly 
might  spring  upon  her  at  any  moment. 

And  then,  hearing  a  sound,  she  suddenly  opened  her 
eyes  and  saw  the  tall  figure  of  Ahmed  Pasha  approach- 
ing. Though  inwardly  she  had  schooled  herself  to  the  in- 
evitable encounter,  now  taken  unawares,  in  spite  of  her- 
self, she  flinched. 


222        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

With  the  intentness  of  one  who  watches  he  marked  it. 
His  step  instantly  slackened,  and  he  salaamed  courte- 
ously as  if  to  reassure  her.  With  a  glint  in  his  gray  eyes 
he  saw,  too,  the  color  rush  to  her  face  as,  looking  directly 
at  him,  she  rose  and  stood  by  the  parapet.  In  her  atti- 
tude pride  blended  with  dignity.  She  waited  for  him  to 
speak. 

"Be  seated,"  he  said  gravely.  "I  have  come  to  see 
with  my  own  eyes  if  the  needs  of  my  guest  have  been 
well  supplied,  and  to  ask  how  my  orders  have  been  carried 
out  by  my  servants." 

"You  mean  your  prisoner,"  she  said,  quietly,  "and 
the  only  boon  she  expects  or  asks  at  the  hand  of  his  Ex- 
cellency is  her  liberty." 

"The  wise  are  cautious  in  their  demands,"  he  replied. 
"The  liberty  you  mean  would  not  long  be  yours  if  I 
were  to  grant  it  to  you  this  very  moment. ' ' 

"  I  do  not  understand  you. ' ' 

' '  You  were  in  your  own  house  unprotected, ' '  he  began. 

"Temporarily  only,  for  I  was  invited  to  stay  at  the 
American  consulate. ' ' 

"I  knew  what  would  be  your  destiny  if  left  alone  in 
Opella,"  he  continued  as  if  she  had  not  spoken.  "Out 
of  regard  for  the  good  doctor,  your  brother,  I  have 
assumed  the  guardianship  of  his  sister.  If  in  return  for 
the  gift  of  liberty  in  this  delightful  spot — " 

"Your  Excellency  must  know  to  whom  it  belongs,"  she 
interrupted  with  decided  warmth,  "for  my  brother 
married  the  sister  of  Culver  Effendi." 

"You  have  named  the  true  reason  for  your  presence 
here.  I  wished  you  to  be  taken  to  a  dwelling  that  was 
already  familiar,  and  one  you  would  regard  with  affec- 
tion." 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        223 

A  sigh  escaped  from  her  parted  lips  as  involuntarily 
she  threw  a  glance  around,  and  then  to  the  faraway 
hills. 

"I  want  you  to  be  happy,"  he  said  in  a  dangerously 
gentle  voice.  Inshallah,  you  are  going  to  be  happy. ' ' 

"That  is  impossible  as  long  as  I  am  separated  from 
my  family  and  detained  against  my  will  in  this  lonely 
spot." 

"Happiness  is  a  plant  that  can  spring  up  and  flower 
in  a  single  day,  or  even  in  an  hour,"  he  said,  moving 
a  step  nearer.  "To  me  the  repose  hidden  away  on  this 
isolated  house  terrace  has  become  an  oasis,  fed  by  that 
pearl  of  the  desert,  a  fountain  of  living  water,  that  gift 
of  which  the  soldier  dreams  in  the  heat  and  fury  of  the 
battle." 

She  remained  silent  but  her  figure  stiffened  and  the 
look  she  cast  on  the  pasha  was  more  eloquent  than  words. 
The  oriental  imagery  was  quite  easy  of  interpretation. 
Quickly  she  decided  to  invoke  the  protection  of  that 
reserve  ordered  by  the  Khoran  towards  women  who  are 
not  of  the  Moslem  faith.  Subduing  her  fear  and  indig- 
nation she  made  a  strong  effort  to  speak  calmly. 

"Apart  from  your  regard  for  my  brother  I  was  quite 
sure  that  from  all  I  heard  of  Ahmed  Pasha  he  would 
treat  me,  his  prisoner,  with  every  consideration.  Though 
of  another  race  and  religion  I  always  admire  the  respect 
shown  by  the  Mussulman  for  women." 

The  pasha  bowed  with  gravity.  His  gray  eyes  concen- 
trated themselves  with  inner  fire  on  her  face  as  he 
smiled  curiously. 

"A  woman  though  a  prisoner — the  word  is  yours  not 
mine — is  never  powerless  for  she  has  always  her  tongue 
to  protect  her,  and  yours  shines  as  does  the  light  of  a 


224        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

star, ' '  he  replied,  his  words  scarcely  veiling  their  hidden 
irony. 

Veronica  little  knew  how  less  than  ever  before,  so  it 
seemed  to  him,  would  it  be  necessary  in  her  case  for  him. 
to  observe  the  letter  of  the  Islamic  law. 

"For  the  sister  of  the  doctor  I  will  do  all  that  it  is 
permitted  to  a  man  to  do,"  he  went  on  more  earnestly. 
"Her  happiness  is  precious  to  me  for  her  own  sake. 
This  is  not  our  first  meeting,  Sitt  Veronica.  When  I  saw 
you  with  your  family  in  the  Lebanon  Hotel  all  eyes  were 
permitted  to  look  upon  you.  You  wore  no  mantle.  It 
must  be  irksome  to  one  accustomed  to  the  fashions  of 
France.  Allow  me  to  relieve  you  of  it,"  and  he  put  out 
his  hands. 

' '  No,  never ! ' '  she  exclaimed  with  a  break  in  her  voice, 
wrapping  the  folds  closer  around  her  arms  while  her 
eyes  fluttered  like  those  of  a  trapped  bird.  She  read 
that  in  his  face  which  turned  her  faint  and  sick.  "He 
who  lays  hand  on  a  woman  against  her  will  is  a  villain 
and  no  true  man. ' ' 

' '  All  is  allowed  in  the  name  of  war, ' '  he  said,  harshly, 
as  he  laughed  a  little  in  a  quick  grim  way. 

"Only  to  the  coward  and  bully  in  whose  ranks  the 
brave  Ahmed  Pasha  will  never  be  reckoned, ' '  she  retorted 
quickly.  "Besides  such  license  in  any  case  could  only 
apply  to  the  enemy.  I  am  a  Turkish  subject." 

France  had  been  the  word  that  had  unnerved  Veronica, 
starting  an  agonizing  thought  of  her  lover,  and  his  fury, 
could  he  for  an  instant  divine  her  peril.  Upon  a  second 
thought  the  same  word  restored  her  courage. 

"The  women  of  my  family  follow  more  than  French 
fashions;  they  follow  the  customs  of  the  West,"  she 
continued  rapidly,  and  now  her  voice  was  steady,  "and 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        225 

there  is  one  we  value  above  all  others.  It  is  the  liberty 
of  choice  in  accepting  or  rejecting  an  offer  of  marriage. 
I  have  already  made  this  choice  and  but  for  the  war 
would  have  been  married." 

He  started  perceptibly  but  preserved  a  dead  silence, 
his  eyes  with  a  sudden  dark  look  searching  her  face  with 
piercing  directness. 

''When  the  man  of  my  choice  discovers  what  has  be- 
come of  me — "  she  began  again,  pursuing  her  advantage. 

''Is  he  of  your  race?"  he  asked,  abruptly. 

"No,  Excellency,"  she  said  with  a  clear  look  into  his 
face. 

"Kosen  Effendi,  the  German  Consul,  was  one  of  your 
party  in  that  hotel.  He  sat  by  you  at  table,  he  played 
with  you,  walked  with  you, ' '  said  Ahmed  Pasha,  absently, 
as  if  mentally  marshaling  certain  points  under  one  head- 
ing to  judge  of  their  relative  value. 

"Perfectly  true,"  said  Veronica  coolly,  her  cheeks  in- 
stantly aflame  lending  an  involuntary  inner  meaning 
to  her  words,  "and  it  was  to  him,  the  responsible  repre- 
sentative of  Germany  in  Opella,  that  my  brother  confided 
the  safeguarding  of  his  family  in  every  way." 

' '  Yet  it  was  to  the  American  not  the  German  consulate 
you  were  going,  so  you  told  me  just  now,"  he  said, 
suspiciously. 

"Your  Excellency  is  pleased  to  jest.  How  is  it  possi- 
ble for  me  to  stay  at  the  house  of  Rosen  Effendi  without 
my  mother  ?  He  has  no  harem  as  you  know. ' ' 

Again  her  face  flamed  under  the  double  pressure  of  his 
unblinking  look  and  her  own  insinuation.  It  mattered 
little  what  he  believed  or  took  for  granted  as  long  as  in 
suppressing  the  real  facts  she  could  shield  Pierre,  and 
free  herself  from  this  dangerous  and  intolerable  position. 


226        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

At  first  in  Ahmed  Pasha's  fixed  look  there  had  been 
something  of  passion  mingled  with  reproach,  but  grad- 
ually his  eyes  became  hard  and  grave.  He  stepped  to 
the  parapet  and  stared  moodily  into  space,  fingering  his 
beads  swiftly.  Could  she  have  read  his  thoughts  her 
own  would  have  been  greatly  eased. 

Just  as  he  was  starting  out  for  El  Fereidus  Eosen 
Effendi  had  come  to  the  Serai  demanding  imperatively 
an  immediate  audience.  A  message  of  regrets  had  been 
sent  out  to  him  with  a  request  that  he  would  return 
next  day  at  an  hour  more  convenient  to  His  Excellency, 
Ahmed  Pasha.  Since  the  Murad  affair  relations  between 
them  had  been  strained.  Ahmed  Pasha  was  now  per- 
suaded that  he  knew  the  reason  for  Rosen  Effendi 's 
urgent  demand.  This  reflection  started  a  whole  stream 
of  considerations  his  position  could  not  allow  him  to 
ignore. 

Veronica  standing  back  against  the  wall  watched  him 
with  her  heart  in  her  throat,  and  her  hand  beneath  her 
mantle  clutching  hard  at  the  little  weapon  which  Pierre 
had  made  her  promise  never  to  let  out  of  her  possession 
and  to  keep  always  about  her.  She  dreaded  the  pasha's 
next  movement  doubting  the  decisive  effect  of  her  revela- 
tions. 

Yet  as  she  looked  at  him,  alert  and  watchful,  it  flashed 
upon  her  that  here  was  a  man  by  whose  side  such  a  one 
as  Rosen  was  in  comparison  but  a  glimmering  rush-light 
of  a  man.  The  pasha  was  a  man  of  steel  and  fire  who 
might  well  capture  any  heart  that  was  not  already  im- 
pressed and  sealed  with  an  image  that  no  other  could 
hope  to  efface.  For  in  Veronica  the  oriental  strain, 
though  partial,  swept  away  the  barrier  of  racial  preju- 
dice. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        227, 

' '  I  have  stated  my  chief  reason  for  bringing  you  here ; 
your  personal  safety  for  which  I  felt  responsible  to  your 
brother  the  doctor, ' '  he  said  at  last,  turning  towards  her 
with  no  visible  sign  of  feeling.  Then  arrested  by  the 
softened  expression  caught  unawares  on  Veronica's  face, 
he  broke  off  as  abruptly  as  he  had  begun.  His  eyes 
seemed  to  catch  fire.  "Rosen  Effendi  is  of  no  impor- 
tance, a  man  of  straw  only — ' ' 

Veronica  put  up  her  hand,  her  face  instantly  hardened. 

' '  Excellency,  there  can  be  nothing  in  common  between 
you  and  me ! "  she  said,  firmly. 

' '  Except  the  heart.  Inshallah !  The  heart  could  yet 
bring  us  together,"  he  said  very  quietly,  watching  her 
intently. 

"My  heart  belongs  wholly  to  another.  It  cannot 
change, ' '  she  said,  coldly.  ' '  Excellency,  I  ask  again  for 
my  liberty." 

Ahmed  Pasha  sighed.  It  was  a  sigh  of  momentary  re- 
nunciation, of  unavoidable  yielding  to  fate.  Only  by 
winning  the  heart  of  the  coveted  woman  could  he  hope  to 
find  a  way  to  defy  German  meddling  in  his  personal 
affairs. 

"Mashallah,  it  is  a  hard  matter  to  deny  one  like  your- 
self anything  she  asks, ' '  he  said  bowing  with  the  reticence 
of  his  first  entrance,  "and  as  soon  as  arrangements  can 
be  made  your  request  shall  be  granted." 

"To-day!     I  beg  of  you,  Excellency,"  she  pleaded. 

"Not  possible,"  he  said  suavely,  "but,  Inshallah,  per- 
haps to-morrow. ' ' 

It  required  no  deep  diving  beneath  the  surface  to  see 
that  he  was  still  hovering  at  the  cross-roads  of  decision, 
outwardly  acquiescent  yet  prevaricating  in  the  usual 
Eastern  fashion.  His  first  step  would  be  to  test  the 


228        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

truth  of  her  statement  by  many  wily  ways  of  investiga- 
tion. Time  was  all  he  needed  to  attain  certainty.  Time 
to  her  was  the  key  to  freedom,  as  long  as  it  provided  the 
few  hours  respite  necessary  to  this  end  between  night 
and  morning. 

A  formal  leave-taking  followed  and  Ahmed  Pasha  went 
away.  Now  that  Veronica  was  on  the  alert  she  soon 
caught  the  speedy  stir  of  movement  and  voices  ascending 
from  the  basement,  and  a  few  minutes  later — it  seemed 
an  eternity — the  sound  of  horses  on  the  road. 

For  a  short  space  she  remained  listening,  listening,  her 
pupils  dilated,  her  lips  set  in  tragic  lines.  Then  the 
nervous  force  that  had  sustained  her  during  the  inter- 
view deserted  her.  She  fell  on  her  knees  against  the 
parapet,  her  head  cushioned  on  her  arms,  her  whole  frame 
shaken  by  the  outburst  of  pent-up  feelings. 

Yet  no  sooner  had  she  given  way  to  these  emotions  than 
she  at  once  began  to  set  her  will  to  control  them.  It  was 
so  very  important  to  betray  nothing  to  the  old  woman 
who  might  appear  at  any  moment. 

A  short  struggle,  fierce  and  rending,  and  she  raised  her 
head,  pressed  her  fingers  to  her  eyes  and  then  lightly 
lifted  the  thick  swelling  of  black  hair  over  her  brow  as 
if  to  relieve  the  dull  ache  of  her  throbbing  temples.  A 
long  sighing  breath  slipped  through  her  lips,  and  then 
she  rose  up  from  the  ground  and  was  composedly  pacing 
the  terrace  of  the  guest  chamber  when  the  old  woman, 
curious  and  talkative,  appeared  with  the  first  relay  of  a 
well  cooked  meal. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A  LI  disappeared  behind  the  three  palm  trees  which 
grew  closely  together  on  a  ledge  of  soil  and  rock  at 
the  back  of  the  terrace.  The  lower  face  of  the  cliff  at 
this  shadowed  corner  consisted  of  vertical  layers  of  rocks 
overlapping  one  another  in  irregular  formation. 

To  one  of  these  slabs  the  Bedouin  applied  his  shoulder 
and  pushed  sideways,  clutching  the  edge  with  his  hands. 
As  if  resting  in  an  oiled  groove  the  slab  moved  noiselessly 
behind  the  overlapping  stone.  He  slipped  through  the 
aperture  revealed  and  from  within  replaced  the  rock  by 
a  similar,  though  reversed,  movement.  His  next  action 
was  to  strike  a  match  and  set  light  to  a  lantern  on  the 
ground. 

He  was  in  a  narrow  passage  so  low  that  in  places  he 
had  to  bend  his  head  as  he  picked  his  way  climbing  a 
more  or  less  winding  ascent.  Originally  a  natural  tun- 
nel such  as  are  to  be  found  and  often  utilized  in  the 
gorges  of  Syria,  it  had  evidently  been  enlarged  and  steps 
cut  in  the  rock  at  difficult  curves  in  the  way.  When  the 
improvements  had  been  made  was  immaterial,  but  the 
existence  of  this  hidden  exit  had  been  kept  a  close  secret, 
a  wise  precaution  already  proved  of  rare  value  to  John 
Culver  and  his  family.  Now  also  it  was  to  be  Veronica's 
outlet  to  freedom. 

Two  hundred  or  more  paces  and  then  a  huge  stone 
blocked  the  passage.  Supported  on  imperceptible  hinges 
it  yielded  slowly  to  pressure  after  the  withdrawal  of 

229 


230        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

strong  bolts.  This  stone  outlet  was  at  the  extreme  end 
of  an  old  rock  tomb,  one  of  several  deserted  ancient  relics 
scattered  among  the  undergrowth  of  the  hillocky  plateau 
on  the  cliff  above  the  river. 

Ali  closed  the  turning  stone  and  hid  his  lantern  in  a 
cleft  of  the  rock  walls.  Then  he  crouched  still  as  a 
statue  at  the  entrance  of  the  tomb.  When  satisfied  by 
stealthy  survey  of  the  vicinity  that  no  other  human  being 
lurked  near  to  observe  his  movements  he  emerged  and 
flitted  away  like  a  shadow. 

An  hour  before  daylight  he  was  in  the  town,  slipping 
along  close  to  the  walls  through  lonely  lanes  and  dark 
alleys,  his  eyes  on  the  watch,  his  ears  agog.  Drawing  his 
cloak  over  his  head  and  muffled  to  the  eyes  he  squatted 
as  if  asleep  in  a  vaulted  passage  opposite  the  American 
consulate. 

The  first  stir  of  life  from  within  brought  him  to  the 
gate.  By  showing  a  visiting  card,  on  which  Veronica 
had  scribbled  a  few  words  in  the  moonlight  asking  the 
Consul  to  admit  and  speak  with  the  bearer  on  urgent 
business,  at  once  he  was  allowed  to  enter  the  court.  The 
rest  followed  automatically,  and  very  soon  Ali  had 
poured  out  the  whole  story  to  the  Consul  himself. 

Mr.  Luce  and  his  wife,  already  disturbed  at  Veronica 's 
disappearance,  and  horrified  at  the  disclosure  of  her 
capture,  were  yet  in  grave  doubt  as  to  the  course  which 
they  would  take. 

The  Consul  knew  already  of  the  increasing  abomina- 
tions committed  under  Government  license  in  Armenia 
and  fast  spreading  to  all  districts  inhabited  by  Arme- 
nians. The  high  authority  of  Ahmed  Pasha  presented 
a  stone  wall  to  any  ordinary  request  on  his  part.  Mrs. 
Luce  visualized  with  feminine  intuition  the  perilous 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        231 

hours  which  must  elapse  before  the  Bedouin's  scheme 
could  be  set  rolling.  The  situation  was  complex  and 
needed  careful  handling. 

Ali's  intriguing  mind  was  impatient  to  start  without 
delay  on  the  development  of  his  own  ideas.  On  the 
other  hand  the  Consul  urged  him  to  spend  the  day  under 
his  roof  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  being  checked  in 
the  town  from  keeping  his  pledge  to  Veronica,  for  then 
indeed  her  plight  would  be  desperate. 

But  said  Ali,  how  procure  provender,  dress,  food,  with- 
out awaking  suspicion  unless  he  went  to  work  secretly  in 
his  own  recognized  way.  There  was  reason  in  his  point 
of  view  and  Mrs.  Luce  began  to  share  it  together  with  his 
confidence  of  success. 

Yet  both  she  and  her  husband  felt  that  the  girl  in 
escaping  one  danger  might  easily  tumble  upon  a  worse, 
and  with  only  the  youth  to  defend  her  it  would  be  a 
miracle  if  she  reached  her  journey's  end  unharmed,  if 
at  all. 

Some  other  idea  must  be  evolved,  or  else  Ali's  plan 
must  be  strengthened  by  extra  securities.  "While  he  was 
hungrily  dispatching  a  meal,  husband  and  wife  busily 
consulted  in  private  without  coming  to  a  definite  deci- 
sion. 

"If  only  that  man  were  less  of  a  beast,"  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Luce  after  futile  beating  of  suggestions  that  when 
examined  proved  utterly  useless. 

"What  man?" 

"Herr  Eosen.  I  shall  never  get  his  brutal  treatment 
of  the  little  girl  out  of  my  mind. ' ' 

"He  may  only  have  been  an  unwilling  spectator." 

"His  complicity  was  bad  enough  in  all  conscience,  and 
if  he  had  protested  at  all  the  child  would  have  said  so. 


232        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Yet  unfortunately  he  is  the  very  man  to  act  in  this 
difficult  matter.  The  Germans  have  it  all  their  own  way 
in  Opella." 

"They  are  always  wire-pullers,"  said  the  consul, 
irritably.  "I  see  no  real  reason  why  he  could  not  be 
called  in  now. ' ' 

"He  is  certainly  devoted  to  the  girl.  Unluckily  she 
detests  the  sight  of  him." 

"That  means  nothing.  If  she  owed  her  life  and 
honor  to  his  intervention,  gratitude  migh  reverse  her 
feelings. ' ' 

"You  forget  she  is  engaged  to  another  man." 

"Whom  she  may  never  see  again,"  said  Mr.  Luce, 
shortly. 

' '  Poor  fellow,  that  is  true.  But  we  cannot  spare  pity 
for  him  now.  The  one  thing  that  matters  is  to  get  her 
out  of  the  pasha's  grip  before  anything  appalling  hap- 
pens. What  if  she  were  forced  into  his  harem!  I  can 
imagine  no  worse  fate  for  the  spirited,  splendid  girl. 
Once  get  her  free  and  she  will  be  quite  capable  of  settling 
her  own  affairs  with  Herr  Rosen." 

"He  must  positively  be  told  of  her  danger,"  said  the 
consul,  decisively.  "Out  of  friendship  for  Dr.  Severin 
alone  the  man  should  surely  bestir  himself  energetically, 
and  in  case  of  necessity  get  the  German  commanding 
officer  to  interfere." 

"Even  that  would  not  move  the  pasha  unless  he  were 
given  to  understand  that  he  had  in  ignorance  abducted 
Rosen's  promised  wife." 

' '  I  should  advise  Rosen  to  let  him  think  so  if  that  were 
the  sole  way  of  getting  the  girl  safely  away. ' ' 

At  first  Ali  demurred  vehemently  against  sharing  the 
honors  of  rescue  with  another.  Then  he  secretly  re- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        233 

fleeted  how  the  aid  suggested  would  leave  him  greater 
freedom  to  organize  the  more  adventurous  rescue  of  the 
Frenchman. 

One  stipulation  he  insisted  upon  before  yielding  an 
inch.  That  not  a  word  should  be  whispered  of  the  hidden 
passage.  The  secret  must  be  held  inviolate  or  his  sister 
and  brother  would  never  forgive  him.  Finally  it  was 
agreed  to  carry  out  the  original  plan  that  night.  At 
daybreak  next  day  he  would  come  again  to  the  consulate 
to  report  progress,  leaving  Veronica  in  a  spot  that  would 
be  perfectly  secure  in  his  absence. 

By  then  Mr.  Luce  hoped  to  have  thought  out  a  suitable 
way  of  safe-guarding  Veronica's  journey  to  her  family, 
though  for  the  moment  he  could  think  of  nothing  better 
than  acquainting  Rosen  with  her  danger.  His  wife 
urged  him  not  to  delay  in  taking  this  step. 

Twice  the  German  Consul  was  out  when  called  upon. 
The  second  time  his  absence  was  unpardonable  as  Mr. 
Luce  had  left  word  he  would  return  at  a  certain  hour. 
The  discourtesy  was  intentional.  Rosen  could  not  for- 
give the  American  consul  for  replacing  him  as  family 
adviser  to  the  Severins.  Mr.  Luce  wrote  a  note  after 
his  second  fruitless  visit  stating  that  his  errand  had  been 
of  so  grave  and  confidential  a  nature  that  no  one  would 
regret  delay  in  learning  it  more  than  Herr  Rosen  him- 
self. 

This  note  brought  Otto  Rosen  without  loss  of  time  to 
the  American  consulate;  but  it  was  already  afternoon. 
Valuable  time  had  been  lost  already.  More  time  slipped 
away  in  settling  what  action  to  take.  The  effect  pro- 
duced on  Rosen  by  the  startling  news  was  such  that  Mr. 
Luce  knew  that  all  would  be  done  that  mortal  man  could 
do  to  avert  a  tragedy. 


234        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

But  it  would  be  entirely  in  his  own  way.  German-like 
he  brooked  no  other  man's  dictation.  For  Ahmed  Pasha 
himself  no  counter  blow  should  be  spared  in  avenging 
this  unspeakable  abduction,  but  first  of  all  he  must  be 
diplomatic.  He  would  go  at  once  to  the  Serai,  see  the 
scoundrel  personally,  and  demand  as  a  right  the  instant 
release  of  Aflle.  Severin. 

Mr.  Luce  expressed  doubt  as  to  the  result  of  this  high- 
handed example  of  diplomacy,  and  was  not  surprised 
when  Eosen  came  back  at  double  quick  speed  in  a  tower- 
ing rage  at  his  failure  to  obtain  the  briefest  interview 
with  the  pasha. 

"Nothing  can  be  done  to-day,  that  is  clear,"  said  Mr. 
Luce.  "The  original  scheme  must  go  through.  This 
clever  young  Arab  seems  devoted  to  the  whole  Severin 
family." 

"Gott  im  Himmel!  Run  the  risk  of  her  being  mas- 
sacred or  even  worse  on  the  route?  Never!  A  pre- 
posterous idea, ' '  stormed  Rosen. 

"My  dear  sir,  explain  yourself." 

"You  must  know  the  state  of  the  roads,  and  how  im- 
possible it  will  be  for  them  to  avoid  falling  in  with  one 
of  those  miserable  convoys  of  deported  Armenians. ' ' 

"Unfortunately  I  do,  and  if  you  would  only  unite 
your  voice  with  mine  in  denouncing — " 

"That  is  a  matter  we  cannot  begin  to  tackle  at  this 
critical  instant.  Let  us  keep  strictly  to  the  vital  point 
of  Mile.  Severin 's  safety.  It  is  impossible  to  leave  her 
to  the  slender  protection  of  the  Bedouin,  however  close 
may  be  the  family  tie." 

"What  then  do  you  propose?  She  wishes  to  join  her 
mother  in  her  retreat  near  Antioch. ' ' 

Rosen  twisted  and  pulled  at  his  mustache. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        235 

"It  seems  to  me  she  must  have  her  wish,"  he  said  with 
an  air  of  caution,  "though  it  is  difficul'  enough  to  carry- 
through.  ' ' 

"Can  you  think  of  a  better  plan  than  the  one  sug- 
gested?" 

Deeply  cogitative  Rosen  paced  up  and  down  the  room 
before  turning  deliberately  to  Mr.  Luce. 

"Yes,  I  can,"  he  said,  concisely.  "I  will  convey  her 
there  myself  with  a  proper  armed  escort.  There  shall 
be  no  doubt  this  time  about  her  absolute  safety." 

' '  Will  she  consent  to  this  arrangement  ? ' ' 

There  was  anger  in  Rosen 's  fiery  glance  at  the  speaker. 

"Consent?  She  will  jump  at  such  a  chance  unless 
she  is  an  utter  fool  and  that  she  never  was  nor  could  be. 
Evidently  you  know  Mile.  Severin  very  slightly." 

His  tone  and  look  were  supercilious,  even  insulting. 
Mr.  Luce's  misgivings  multiplied.  Had  he  made  a  mis- 
take to  mediate  at  all  through  such  a  man  ?  But  several 
points  still  had  to  be  weighed  and  settled.  Where  and 
when  to  meet  Mile.  Severin,  and  if  a  carriage  or  a  horse 
should  be  in  readiness  for  the  journey. 

"Both  shall  be  provided.  She  can  have  her  choice," 
said  Rosen,  as  if  determined  to  do  nothing  by  halves. 
"Besides  I  must  be  prepared  to  meet  any  contingency 
that  may  arise.  When  is  that  Arab  fellow  coming  again  ? 
When  did  he  see  Mile.  Severin  ? ' ' 

' '  He  saw  her  during  this  last  night.  An  Arab 's  notion 
of  time  is  never  exact,  you  know. ' ' 

"Lieber  Himmel!"  muttered  Rosen,  abnormally  nerv- 
ous of  a  sudden  as  he  stared  at  Mr.  Luce.  He  was 
positively  afraid  for  her.  Though  he  knew  nothing  of 
the  true  state  of  affairs  he  was  horribly  afraid,  remem- 
bering the  isolation  of  the  Culvers'  home. 


236        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"The  Arab  said  she  was  prepared  to  wait  with  perfect 
confidence  for  his  return. ' ' 

"Ah,  she  has  the  courage  of  a  man,"  said  Rosen  with 
gloomy  pride,  "and  is  resourceful,  as  I  have  reason  to 
know. ' ' 

"You  do  not  think  you  can  win  audience  with  Ahmed 
Pasha  later  on  to-day?  That  would  be  the  safest  plan." 

"I  was  told  positively  he  would  not  return  till  to- 
morrow morning.  He  was  away  on  affairs  of  pressing 
importance. ' ' 

Eosen  stopped  short  arrested  by  a  question  in  the  other 
man's  eyes. 

"This  suspense  is  damnable,"  he  fumed  in  a  choked 
voice.  "If  the  blackguard  touches  a  hair  of  her  head 
I  will  strangle  him  with  my  own  hands  if  I  swing  for  it. ' ' 

Through  the  rest  of  the  day  though  he  had  business  of 
all  sorts  and  kinds  to  anticipate  while  providing  for  his 
absence  at  a  critical  period,  and  difficult  arrangements 
to  make  for  the  journey,  time  dragged  painfully,  for  he 
was  in  a  constant  fever  of  acute  dread.  Yet  for  all  that 
lurked  the  old  feeling  at  the  back  of  his  mind  that  fate 
was  playing  into  his  hands,  and  that  nothing  could  check 
him  this  time  from  at  last  winning  straight  to  his  heart's 
desire. 

Sleep  was  out  of  the  question  that  night.  While  he 
held  a  restless  and  occupied  vigil  dreadful  pictures  filed 
through  his  mind  of  the  horrors  and  barbarities  to  which 
Armenian  women  of  all  grades  and  ages  were  already 
being  subjected  at  the  hands  of  Turks,  Kurds  and 
Moslems  of  every  class. 

To  Veronica  midnight  came  round  laboriously  enough, 
her  heart  within  her  alternately  sinking  and  hoping  to 
desperation.  She  stayed  in  the  guest  room  outwardly 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       237 

content  and  even  gay  till  the  old  woman  had  gone  down 
for  the  night.  Reflecting  on  Ali's  plan  for  disguise  she 
decided  that  while  adopting  it  she  would  underneath  re- 
tain her  European  clothes,  discarding  only  the  Eastern 
mantle. 

Then  she  went  back  to  the  terrace  of  the  little  tent 
Alarms  innumerable  besieged  her  at  intervals.  Sounds 
she  had  not  noted  on  the  preceding  night  ascended  from 
the  river,  the  base  of  the  house  and  out  of  the  far,  far 
distance. 

But  gradually  they  died  down  till  by  the  local  stillness 
she  felt  certain  that  Ali  would  soon  appear. 

When  he  did  it  was  unexpected,  for  gazing  through 
the  opening  in  the  wall  she  had  drifted  into  a  deep, 
trance-like  reverie,  losing  touch  with  all  in  the  silence  but 
hope  of  freedom  for  the  man  she  loved. 

Not  a  minute  was  lost,  a  needless  word  spoken,  nor  a 
sound  allowed  to  drop  into  the  prevailing  quiet.  They 
disappeared  silently,  mysteriously.  The  only  sign  left 
behind  of  Veronica's  recent  presence  on  the  terrace  was 
the  big  mantle  dropped  purposely  in  a  heap  by  the  wall. 
Its  position  there  was  later  to  create  endless  conjecture, 
for  her  whole  disappearance  breathed  to  the  native  mind 
a  something  uncanny,  not  to  be  accounted  for  in  any 
normal  fashion. 

When  the  fugitives  came  out  of  the  tunneled  passage 
into  the  old  rock  chamber  Ali  hurriedly  produced  and 
unrolled  a  bundle  lying  in  readiness. 

"Instead  of  the  woman's  dress  I  have  brought  you  a 
man's  cloak,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice.  "It  is  safer. 
Here  is  the  head  shawl  and  the  agal  to  hold  it." 

"A  wise  thought,  0  Ali,  but  there  are  my  feet  to  think 
of.  Am  I  to  go  bare-footed  ? ' ' 


238        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Allah  forbid  such  a  thing !  I  have  brought  red  boots 
like  my  own  but  of  a  smaller  size. ' ' 

"Good!  Good!  May  Allah  bless  your  hands,"  said' 
Veronica,  beginning  with  speed  to  adjust  her  simplified 
disguise. 

She  was  soon  ready  and  then  Ali  hiding  her  bag  under 
his  abbai  led  the  way  into  the  open.  The  air  playing 
upon  her  face  was  sweet  and  fresh.  Through  the  low- 
toned  transparent  atmosphere  of  the  night  her  slim,  tall 
figure  enveloped  in  the  capacious  Bedouin  cloak  looked 
twin  brother  to  Ali  as  they  dipped  into  a  sandy  track 
winding  between  brushwood  high  in  places  as  their 
heads. 

They  picked  up  the  donkey  Ali  had  left  hoppled  in  a 
leafy  covert  of  the  slope.  Veronica  mounted  was  more 
at  ease  than  on  foot  in  the  scarlet  boots,  two  sizes  at  least 
too  large,  while  Ali 's  long  stride  kept  pace  at  her  side. 

Fear  of  pursuit  was  out  of  the  question  for  many  hours 
to  come.  All  the  same  it  was  wiser  to  press  on,  more 
especially  as  Ali  had  to  be  in  Opella  by  daybreak. 

He  was  taking  her  to  the  site  of  their  deserted  en- 
campment. She  knew  it  well.  Behind  some  ruins  which 
had  flanked  the  Bedouin  tents  there  was  a  secret  hiding 
place  known  only  to  responsible  members  of  their  tribe. 
It  was  a  well  concealed  cavern  that  had  served  as  sanctu- 
ary for  many  a  fugitive  from  Turkish  justice.  Here 
Veronica  was  to  remain  while  he  went  to  and  from  the 
American  consulate,  according  to  the  arrangement. 

He  tethered  the  donkey  in  a  secluded  recess  of  the 
ruins,  entered  the  cave,  struck  a  light  and  was  soon  able 
to  pass  a  flaming  brand  over  the  rocky  walls.  If  he 
could  prevent  it  not  even  a  spider  should  lurk  in  hiding 
to  molest  his  guest.  Then  he  quickly  collected  a  quantity 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        239 

of  springy  twigs  from  the  brushwood  near,  and  brought 
them  in  to  form  a  couch  which  he  covered  with  a  saddle 
rug. 

Veronica  commended  his  thoughtful  energy  for  her 
comfort. 

"Yet  I  wish  we  could  have  gone  on  without  this 
break,"  she  said,  wistfully,  "or  that  now  I  have  put  on 
this  dress  we  could  search  together  for  the  prisoner  of 
the  tomb. ' ' 

' '  By  the  soul  of  my  mother,  no !  Fear  for  your  safety 
would  hamper  my  feet  like  a  chain.  First  I  must  alone 
discover  where  he  is  hidden.  A  man  of  the  Weldeh 
possesses  many  secret  keys  to  fit  a  locked  door, ' '  he  said, 
proudly. 

' '  Heaven  smooth  your  path, ' '  she  said  with  a  catch  in 
her  voice,  though  his  confidence  was  fanning  her  waning 
courage  to  a  steady  glow. 

"Inshallah!" 

He  cautioned  her  not  to  stir  from  her  hiding  place  un- 
til she  heard  the  cry  of  a  jackal  three  times  repeated. 
He  showed  her  how  to  make  the  exit  secure  and  told  her 
there  was  food  and  also  water  in  the  saddlebags/  Then 
he  vanished  into  the  night. 

Though  Veronica  had  the  feeling  of  one  released  from 
the  fetters  of  an  evil  spell  she  was  conscious  of  a  sensa- 
tion of  unusual  dread.  Both  feelings  remained  with  her 
during  the  hours  she  spent  alone. 

She  knew  too  much  about  Turkish  power  in  high  places 
to  belittle  the  peril  that  had  threatened  her,  but  to  any- 
body rather  than  to  Otto  Rosen  she  would  have  preferred 
to  owe  her  safety.  If  only  she  could  herself  have  spoken 
eye  to  eye  with  Mr.  Luce  or  his  wife,  or  have  gone  boldly 
with  AU  in  quest  of  her  mother ! 


240        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Yet  everything  was  so  uncertain  that  personal  action 
seemed  paralyzed.  All  that  constituted  her  world  was  in 
the  melting  pot.  Above  all  griefs  bending  and  breaking 
her  heart  was  the  bitter  knowledge  of  her  lover's  captiv- 
ity. 

And  here  in  this  cramped  rocky  interior  she  was  able 
to  taste  a  measure  of  the  life  he  was  leading.  Life? 
"Why  it  must  be  the  worst  kind  of  purgatory,  a  veritable 
death  in  life.  For  she  remembered  every  word  of  that 
vivid  narrative  of  the  prisoners  of  Amasia.  The  black- 
ness, the  loneliness,  the  dread  she  had  to  endure  for  a 
brief  interval  only,  while  his  ordeal  was  continuous  with 
no  respite  at  all,  and  practically  no  hope  to  sustain  him. 
For  he  was  not  to  know  that  his  plight  had  been  revealed 
to  any  of  his  friends,  above  all  to  the  woman  he  loved. 

She  welcomed  the  thick  palpable  blackness  which  em- 
braced her  like  a  shroud.  For  so  must  he  often  and 
often  sit  in  darkness  for  hours,  and  think  and  dream  of 
her  as  she  was  doing  now  of  him.  She  drew  the  beloved 
face  towards  her  through  the  intervening  spaces  which, 
divided  them.  Just  when  the  visualization  of  his  suffer- 
ings culminated  in  a  rush  of  agonizing  misery  she  lifted 
her  head  and  saw  a  bright  star  looking  in  like  a  friendly 
eye  through  a  chink  in  the  rocks. 

She  took  heart  at  the  omen.  Her  inbred  fatalism  in- 
tensified by  peril  was  ready  to  accept  the  portent.  The 
star  shone  into  the  dark  places  of  her  soul,  drawing  up 
hope  from  its  retreat,  and  a  renewed  faith  in  the  mercy 
of  God.  Still  chasing  the  thoughts  provoked  by  the 
silvery  gleam  she  fell  asleep. 

When  she  awoke  the  sun  was  up,  transforming  the 
blackness  of  the  cave  into  a  gray  twilight. 

Had  Ali  given  the  signal  while  she  slept,  was  her  first 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        241 

thought.  No,  for  failing  a  response  he  would  have  come 
to  rouse  her.  Would  he  come  at  all  she  questioned  with 
sudden  panic  ?  Surely,  unless  dead  or  captured  himself 
he  would  never  fail  her. 

Fortified  and  controlled  by  the  needful  rest  she  viewed 
the  situation  with  calmness.  She  ate  a  little  of  the  bread 
and  fruit  she  found  in  the  saddle  bag,  drank  some  water, 
and  after  freshening  her  toilette  in  the  best  way  possible 
under  the  restricted  conditions,  she  waited  with  what 
patience  she  could  command. 

Suspense  growing  apace  she  slipped  out  of  the  cave  and 
stood  concealed  in  the  long  reeds  and  undergrowth  near 
the  exit.  In  every  direction  she  darted  keen  glances, 
not  at  all  sure  from  which  direction  to  expect  Ali.  Wild 
schemes  of  seeking  her  own  way  to  safety  raced  through 
her  mind  now  that  her  own  personality  was  effectually 
hidden  by  the  Bedouin  garb.  Daylight  and  the  open  air 
had  drawn  out  every  trace  of  apprehension.  Her 
splendid  courage  rose  like  a  mounting  tide  in  her  veins, 
and  shone  in  her  eyes. 

Suddenly  Ali  stood  before  her  without  warning  her 
by  the  rustling  of  a  leaf.  A  smile  was  on  his  usually  im- 
passive face. 

' '  Good !    All  is  good ! "  he  said. 

She  drew  a  deep  breath  of  relief  before  saying,  "I 
have  longed  for  your  coming. ' ' 

"Good,  all  is  good!"  he  repeated,  still  smiling. 
' '  There  are  soldiers,  a  carriage,  the  pack  mules,  and  the 
German  consul  himself.  He  will  take  you  without  delay 
to  your  mother." 

"What  do  you  mean?  It  is  impossible.  I  cannot 
trust  the  German  consul.  I  hate  him,"  she  replied, 
angrily. 


242        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Impassivity,  the  desert's  caste  mark,  returned  to  Ali's 
face,  cloaking  his  underlying  feelings  whether  of 
sympathy  or  of  disagreement. 

"The  words  you  put  in  my  mouth  profited  nothing. 
Only  the  will  of  the  two  consuls  prevailed.  You  do  not 
trust  the  German  consul.  They  lack  faith  in  me. 
Malaish!" 

"They  do  not  know  you  as  I  do.  Come,  let  us  run 
quickly  away  before  they  find  us." 

"It  is  now  my  sister  who  asks  the  impossible.  Pur- 
suit of  her  plan  will  cast  the  fate  of  the  Frenchman  to 
the  winds." 

Veronica  looked  helplessly  around,  once  again  caught 
in  an  eddy  of  desperate  uncertainty.  Her  troubled  wide 
blue  eyes  had  a  hunted  look.  She  had  not  foreseen  com- 
ing so  soon,  if  ever  again,  in  direct  touch  with  Otto 
Kosen.  The  exercise  of  his  influence  with  Turkish  au- 
thority was  the  utmost  she  had  calculated  upon,  and  even 
that  would  be  an  obligation  she  had  hated  to  dwell  on. 

A  horrifying  notion  pounced  upon  her.  Did  he  know 
by  any  chance  of  Ahmed  Pasha's  assumption  to  which 
she  had  given  no  denial  ? 

One  way  or  the  other  she  must  decide  at  once.  For  a 
moment  she  stood  there  clenching  and  unclenching  her 
hands  and  staring  at  Ali,  then  she  turned  back  to  the 
cave.  By  the  hasty  way  in  which  she  dropped  the  desert 
cloak  and  tore  off  the  keffiyeh  he  guessed  what  was  in  her 
mind. 

Silently  he  watched  her  open  her  bag,  unroll  and 
adjust  a  broad-rimmed  pliable  hat  with  a  flowing  veil. 
For  an  instant  she  had  hesitated  between  the  hat  and 
a  lace  scarf,  then  decided  that  the  more  European  her 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        243 

garb  under  the  altered  situation  the  wiser  for  all  parties. 
She  changed  from  the  red  boots  back  to  her  own  shoes. 

' '  What  shall  we  do  with  these  Bedouin  garments  ? ' '  she 
asked,  doubtfully. 

"Wallah !     I  will  take  them  for  the  Frenchman." 

For  a  moment  a  light  broke  over  her  face.  Then  the 
brightness  faded  and  left  it  white  and  very  quiet. 

' ' I  have  decided  what  to  do.  In  God's  name  so  be  it ! " 
she  said,  sighing.  "I  will  go  with  the  German  consul 
though  only  for  the  express  purpose  of  joining  my 
family. ' ' 

"Allah  is  your  friend.    You  have  chosen  well." 

"I  rely  upon  you,  0  Ali,  to  keep  your  promise,"  she 
said,  impressively.  ' '  First  to  discover  where  the  French- 
man lies  hidden,  then  to  snatch  him  from  his  prison  while 
he  is  yet  alive.  Promise  to  do  your  utmost,  my  brother ! 
Hanna  will  help." 

Ali  lifted  his  head.  His  deep  liquid  eyes  suddenly 
glinted  with  a  passionate  wildness. 

' '  I  swear  by  my  eyes  and  the  soul  of  my  mother  I  will 
do  for  thee  and  thine  whatever  is  possible  and  impossi- 
ble. It  is  certain  that  Allah  will  preserve  his  life  to  eat 
again  in  the  house  of  his  friends,"  he  said  in  a  husky 
voice. 

"Then  lead  the  way,  my  brother  and  friend!  I  am 
ready." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

OTTO  ROSEN  waited  in  solitude,  watching  the  thicket 
into  which  AH  had  plunged,  some  distance  away 
from  the  deserted  camping  site,  in  order  to  divert  atten- 
tion from  the  true  position  of  the  Bedouin  cache. 

Confident  as  Rosen  had  been  to  Mr.  Luce  of  Veron- 
ica's willingness  to  accept  the  protection  of  his  armed 
escort  the  half  hour  of  waiting  was  a  time  of  irritating 
soul  turmoil  and  difficult  suspense.  He  felt  he  had 
never  cared  so  deeply  about  her  as  at  the  present  mo- 
ment, that  all  the  love  of  the  past  was  a  mere  nothing 
compared  to  his  immediate  feeling. 

How  would  she  regard  him?  Would  she  look  at  him 
with  the  accusing,  contemptuous  eyes  of  their  last  angry 
combat?  Was  it  possible  to  stir  up  confidence  and  a  new 
love  in  her  breast  after  all  that  had  gone  before  ? 

Then  suddenly  he  saw  her  coming  and  his  heart  began 
to  thump  like  a  boy's. 

She  walked  with  a  slow,  even  reluctant  step,  as  if  to  a 
difficult  encounter.  The  free,  graceful  lines  of  her  fine 
figure  were  denned  through  the  silken  folds  of  the  thin 
dust  cloak  she  wore  instead  of  the  abbai.  The  mere  sight 
of  her,  like  wine  taken  after  a  long  abstinence,  made  him 
dizzy.  His  covetous  eyes  enveloped,  dwelt  upon  her. 

She,  too,  was  alone,  having  sent  Ali  back  in  case  of 
treachery  to  him.  In  neither  Turk  nor  German  could 
she  ever  have  faith  again.  It  was  solely  for  her  lover's 
sake  she  walked  deliberately  into  what  for  all  she  could 

244 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       245 

tell  was  but  a  new  snare.  If  it  were  also  to  entangle  All 
her  sacrifice  would  be  purposeless. 

She  had  schooled  herself  rigorously  for  the  trial  of 
meeting  this  man.  After  the  first  glimpse  she  caught  of 
his  well-known  figure  standing  expectantly  under  the 
trees  she  fastened  her  gaze  on  the  ground  as  if  choosing 
her  path.  The  torture  of  little  Zia  flared  up  between 
them  and  she  had  to  hide  the  antipathy  which  she  could 
not  instantly  call  to  heel.  She  hated  having  to  dissemble 
her  true  feelings,  and  still  more  the  necessity  of  seeking 
safety  under  the  German  flag.  It  was  exactly  what  he 
had  foretold  to  her  mother  before  Turkey  had  even 
entered  the  war. 

Above  all  she  was  horribly  nervous  lest  the  pasha's 
belief  of  an  engagement  between  them  should  have  come 
to  his  ears. 

In  fact  the  whole  of  life  had  become  a  net  round  her 
feet.  Now  as  he  came  hurriedly  forward  to  meet  her  and 
she  saw  the  underglow  of  excitement  shining  in  his  eager 
gaze,  she  felt  the  net  spreading  out  and  smothering  her 
within  its  folds.  She  had  vowed  in  advance  she  would 
never  clasp  his  hand  again,  and  the  next  moment  found 
herself  enduring  the  grasp  of  his,  and  even  allowing  him 
to  kiss  her  hand. 

"Praise  heaven  we  have  found  you.  Now  all  will  be 
well, ' '  he  said  in  the  voice  of  a  man  who  has  put  all  aside 
but  a  pressing  concentrated  interest  in  the  person  ad- 
dressed. 

She  raised  her  eyes  and  looked  at  him  gravely  and  very 
fixedly.  It  flashed  across  him  that  she  had  by  no  means 
the  air  of  one  who  had  recently  escaped  from  a  great  and 
unusual  danger. 

"Thanks  to  Sheikh  AH!"  she  said. 


246        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"To  be  sure.    Where  is  he  ?    I  want  to  reward  him. ' ' 

' '  He  was  obliged  to  hurry  away  to  other  urgent  duties. 
Besides  he  is  very  proud.  He  would  be  affronted  if 
offered  a  reward  for  what  he  has  done  for  me.  It  is  a 
matter  entirely  between  his  family  and  mine." 

"All  the  same  if  ever  I  can  do  him  a  kindness  or  pro- 
cure him  a  boon  of  any  kind  I  shall  hasten  to  do  it.  But 
you  are  tired,  I  am  sure.  We  had  better  find  the  car- 
riage. It  is  not  far  to  walk." 

"I  should  like  to  know  the  arrangement  made  by  you 
and  Mr.  Luce  for  my  journey,"  she  said,  glancing  un- 
easily ahead  as  he  led  the  way.  ' '  It  should  not  take  me 
more  than  a  couple  of  days,  or  three  at  the  most." 

He  hurried  to  explain  that  the  dangers  of  traveling 
increased  daily.  In  order  to  obtain  a  strong  enough 
armed  escort  for  his  purpose  he  had  been  compelled  to 
make  the  journey  a  semi-official  one.  This  arrangement 
would  entail  a  little  delay  to  pay  important  visits  on  a 
few  local  officials  en  route.  He  hoped  she  would  not 
be  annoyed  that  at  least  in  one  case  a  detour  would  be 
necessary,  but  this  was  unavoidable. 

"Naturally  I  regret  and  dislike  the  delay,"  she  said 
with  a  touch  of  agitation  that  bordered  on  dismay,  "but 
I  must  be  satisfied  that  you  have  made  the  best  arrange- 
ment possible  under  the  difficult  circumstances.  At  any 
rate  I  am  no  longer  a  prisoner.  Of  course  Mr.  Luce 
knows  these  plans?" 

"Gewiss!  He  approves  in  every  way  and  his  wife  has 
sent  one  of  the  women  of  her  household  to  be  your  per- 
sonal attendant.  You  see  all  travelers  to-day  do  their 
utmost  to  attach  themselves  to  an  armed  guard,"  he 
spoke  in  apologetic  tones,  uneasy  at  her  air  of  increasing 
aloofness.  "The  addition  of  the  carriage  to  our  party 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        247 

is  nothing  unusual.  If  you  can  only  bring  yourself  to 
put  up  with  the  inconvenience  of  delay  a  perfectly  safe 
journey  is  assured." 

"Mrs.  Luce  is  always  the  kindest  and  most  thoughtful 
of  friends,"  was  Veronica's  comment,  as  privately  she 
determined  that  this  woman,  whoever  she  might  be, 
should  always  be  with  her  by  night  and  by  day. 

And  as  soon  as  she  saw  the  mounted  armed  guard,  the 
beasts  of  burden  laden  with  all  the  paraphernalia  of  a 
camp,  the  attendants  and  muleteers,  she  knew  that  Rosen 
had  not  deceived  her  on  this  occasion.  He  was  taking 
no  risks,  though  his  precautions  might  well  be  as  much 
for  the  safety  of  his  own  skin  as  for  hers.  If  Ahmed 
Pasha  through  his  ubiquitous  spies  came  to  know  she 
was  traveling  under  Rosen's  protection  his  suspicions 
would  be  confirmed.  Surely  he  would  make  no  fresh 
attack  on  her  liberty. 

This  reflection  braced  her  to  the  passive  endurance  of 
a  situation  that  could  only  be  revolting  under  any  con- 
ditions. For  she  had  to  suffer  his  presence  in  the  car- 
riage. But  as  long  as  the  familiar  face  of  the  woman 
remained  opposite  to  her  it  would  be  impossible'  for  him 
to  renew  his  importunities  of  other  days,  those  days 
which  already  seemed  a  century  away. 

However,  for  once  Otto  Rosen  displayed  in  his  words 
and  manner  through  the  whole  of  the  day  a  tactful  cere- 
mony which  surprised  and  relieved  her.  The  dignity 
and  reticence  which  marked  her  own  bearing  towards  him 
he  considered  intelligible  enough,  also  becoming  to  the 
situation. 

What  an  effort  his  restraint  cost  him  Veronica  had  no 
idea,  nor  of  the  constant  watch  he  had  to  keep  upon 
himself.  He  had  set  himself  the  task  of  earning  her  un- 


248        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

qualified  gratitude  which  even  now  he  was  confident 
would  merge  step  by  step  into  a  warmer  and  deeper 
emotion. 

His  scheme  for  increasing  the  number  of  days  in  forci- 
bly close  companionship  with  Veronica  had  marched 
ahead  of  his  wildest  hopes.  He  believed  firmly  that  all 
suspicions  had  quieted  in  her  mind.  He  could  read  no 
distrust  in  her  eyes,  only  a  lurking  shadow  in  their  blue 
depths  which  he  hoped  soon  to  chase  away.  In  fact  the 
girl  succeeded  so  well  in  masking  her  soul  that  Rosen  was 
amazed  at  her  calmness  after  all  she  had  gone  through. 

At  first  their  road  passed  over  long  gentle  slopes  and 
low  bare  hills,  with  corn  land  between,  and  here  and  there 
a  shallow  valley  fruitful  with  pistachio  and  other  trees. 
The  undulating  country  was  thickly  set  with  villages  and 
ruins  of  all  kinds.  But  for  all  that  Veronica  either  cared 
or  noticed  they  might  have  been  passing  through  a 
desert. 

With  great  tact  Rosen  arranged  that  the  first  night  of 
the  journey  should  be  spent  under  the  roof  of  a  con- 
sular agent  in  a  busy  little  place  tilled  and  befriended 
industriously  by  German  KuUur.  In  advance  of  their 
arrival  Rosen  had  advised  her  to  keep  silence  on  the 
object  and  goal  of  their  journey.  Though  there  was 
little  or  nothing  to  fear  under  the  aegis  of  the  German 
flag,  he  said,  it  would  be  as  well  to  avoid  leaving  the 
least  trail  for  Ahmed  Pasha  to  brood  over. 

Veronica  agreed  with  gravity,  and  accepted  his  ex- 
planation for  their  halt  in  a  spot  east  and  not  west  of 
Opella  for  similar  reasons.  The  deflection  was  prudent. 
In  a  day  or  two  he  promised  to  double  by  a  new  track 
entirely,  and  make  up  for  delay  by  quicker  traveling. 

At  night  she  could  really  rest  secure  from  apprehen- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       249 

sion,  stretch  her  tired  limbs,  close  her  throbbing  eyes. 
By  the  morning  she  was  physically  refreshed,  and  had 
regained  much  of  her  latent  energy. 

Yet  though  used  as  long  as  her  memory  went  back  to 
this  mode  of  getting  about  the  country  it  was  most 
fatiguing.  She  endured  solely  as  a  means  to  an  end  both 
the  journey  and  the  companionship  of  Rosen  with  dull 
patience,  and  the  feeling  of  one  who  marks  time  in  a 
dream. 

Their  next  lodging  was  in  a  large  khan  where  the  chief 
guest  room  was  reserved  for  Veronica  and  her  attendant. 
Here,  too,  the  feeling  of  security  acted  as  a  sedative. 
Her  last  look  before  falling  asleep  fell  on  the  woman 
slumbering  on  a  mat  laid  across  the  barred  entrance. 
She  remembered  nothing  else  till  morning. 

Rosen  in  both  places  had  seen  nothing  of  Veronica 
after  their  arrival.  Pleading  fatigue  as  an  excuse  she 
had  remained  invisible  and  unapproachable.  He  re- 
flected moodily  over  the  whole  situation.  How  to  con- 
quer her  aloofness  was  his  chief  concern.  Plan  after 
plan  cropped  up  in  his  mind  as  that  second  night  he 
spread  out  his  detailed  map  of  the  vilayet  and  brooded 
over  it  for  a  couple  of  hours. 

He  was  getting  desperate.  The  pursuit  of  Veronica's 
love  possessed  him  like  a  monomania.  He  was  prepared 
to  go  to  any  lengths  to  gain  the  end  he  coveted. 

"Ende  gut,  alles  gut!  She  told  me  so  herself,"  he 
muttered,  at  last  folding  up  his  map.  "To-morrow  we 
will  try  a  change  of  tactics." 

The  movement,  noise,  and  hurry  of  setting  out  next 
morning  was  in  full  swing,  and  Veronica  already  seated 
in  the  carriage  before  the  consul  made  his  appearance. 
She  was  looking  at  a  beautiful  Arab  mare  pawing  im- 


250        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

patiently  in  the  care  of  a  groom.  Rosen's  eyes  sud- 
denly gleamed  as  he  noted  her  interest. 

"I  am  going  to  ride  to-day,"  he  said,  casually,  after 
inquiring  if  she  had  slept  well  and  felt  equal  to  con- 
tinuing the  journey  at  once.  "It  will  give  you  more 
room  in  the  carriage  and  I  shall  appreciate  the  change. ' ' 

"I  envy  you,"  she  said  with  sudden  impulse. 

"Is  that  true?  It  would  be  easy  to  arrange  for  you 
to  do  likewise.  If  not  to-day  then  certainly  to-morrow. " 

Veronica  made  no  immediate  reply.  Not  a  word  was 
addressed  to  her  by  Rosen  that  she  did  not  weigh  and 
figuratively  twist  and  turn  inside  out. 

"I  should  be  very  pleased,"  she  said  at  last,  speaking 
slowly,  "though  I  am  quite  content  to  remain  in  the 
carriage. ' ' 

Yet  strange  to  say  her  first  feeling  of  relief  at  being 
rid  of  his  presence  was  succeeded  by  another  of  restless- 
ness. She  looked  around  more  than  once  to  be  sure 
he  was  somewhere  in  sight.  A  curious  dread  stole  upon 
her.  She  glanced  at  the  driver.  Was  he  to  be  trusted  ? 
And  that  quartette  of  armed  riders  ahead,  how  was  she 
to  know  they  were  not  in  Ahmed  Pasha's  secret  pay? 

Rosen  missed  no  twist  of  her  head.  He  guessed  with 
a  quick  rapture  of  heart  something  of  what  was  passing 
through  her  mind.  She  missed  him,  verily  and  truly. 
She  needed  him.  He  tried  the  experiment  of  lagging 
behind  till  again  he  detected  the  seeking  movement  of  the 
beloved  head.  Then  he  put  on  a  sudden  spurt,  rode  to 
the  side  of  the  carriage  and  bent  sideways  to  talk  to  her. 

Relief  was  actually  clear  in  her  beautiful  eyes  as  she 
looked  up  at  him.  For  months  past  the  mental  dis- 
tance between  them  had  steadily  increased.  Now  he 
felt  that  m  a  moment,  at  one  spring,  this  distance  was 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       251 

bridged  and  they  were  again  in  touch.  He  had  to 
exercise  stringent  control  to  preserve  the  friendly  atti- 
tude he  had  diplomatically  imposed  upon  himself. 

' '  I  have  been  thinking  over  the  matter  of  a  mount  for 
you,"  he  said.  "As  it  happens  nothing  could  be  more 
opportune  if  you  would  really  prefer  to  ride.  I  will 
explain  more  fully  at  lunch  time." 

He  had  given  her  food  for  reflection.  When  they  sat 
down  under  the  little  open  tent  for  a  meal  her  mind  wai 
receptive  to  any  new  ideas  put  before  her. 

He  reminded  her  with  a  grave  demeanor  that  caution 
must  be  the  chief  guide  of  all  travelers  of  to-day.  Vari- 
ous reports  of  the  state  of  the  high  road,  especially 
beyond  the  stage  they  were  upon  had  been  brought  to 
him.  Forewarned  was  to  be  forearmed.  On  the  mor- 
row therefore  he  proposed  to  strike  into  a  route  not 
generally  used  but  certainly  safer.  One  drawback  he 
had  been  considering.  The  track  was  impracticable  for 
a  carriage. 

"As  far  as  I  am  concerned  it  does  not  matter  in  the 
least,"  said  Veronica.  "I  shall  be  delighted  to  ride. 
Perhaps  I  could  hire  a  suitable  horse  at  our  resting  place 
to-night,  and  a  strong  ass  for  the  woman." 

"She  can  easily  find  a  seat  on  one  of  the  pack  mules. 
If  you  are  willing  to  ride  you  shall  have  the  mare  I  am 
riding  to-day.  That  was  my  chief  reason  for  taking  her 
in  hand  myself  to-day.  I  brought  her  and  a  second  one 
with  me  to  hold  in  reserve  in  case  of  an  accident  over- 
taking the  carriage,  or  to  be  ready  in  any  other  emer- 
gency." 

"You  have  shown  great  forethought,"  she  said,  while 
again  searching  uneasily  for  the  secret  motive  which  she 
never  ceased  to  suspect. 


252        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Any  moment  that  she  began  to  feel  the  least  inclined 
to  regard  him  with  leniency  quick  remembrance  hardened 
her  heart.  She  set  her  teeth  with  a  savage  intensity  as 
later  on  in  the  day  she  sat  back  white  and  stern  in  the 
carriage,  brooding  over  his  brutal  share  in  the  terrible 
captivity  of  Pierre. 

It  was  not  till  she  was  actually  in  the  saddle  next  day 
that  she  lost  the  fierce  depression  that  had  suddenly  en- 
compassed her  like  a  thick  cloud  with  bitter  wrath  hidden 
at  the  heart  of  it.  The  first  fresh  taste  of  freedom  she 
had  experienced  for  many  a  day  came  to  her  directly  she 
sat  the  mare  provided  for  her  use. 

By  magic  her  spirits  lifted  in  the  clear  morning  air. 
Hope  fluttered  ahead  of  her,  winged  with  all  sorts  of  new 
possibilities. 

And  Pierre  seemed  very  near  the  whole  time.  A 
strange  expectation  tingled  in  her  veins.  His  face  was 
ever  before  her.  She  could  almost  hear  his  voice,  ardent, 
masterful,  vibrant  with  love. 

Perhaps  Ali  had  already  found  him.  Perhaps  he  was 
free! 

Rosen's  confidence  had  fallen  to  zero  in  contemplating 
her  unconcealed  melancholy  of  yesterday.  To-day  it 
rose  swiftly  as  he  watched  the  dreams  gathering  in  her 
eyes  and  took  them  to  himself.  His  heart  leaped  for  joy. 

With  the  myopic  mental  vision  which  is  known  nowa- 
days to  be  something  thoroughly  German,  he  firmly  be- 
lieved that  the  present  and  future  had  power  completely 
to  smother  the  past.  He  forgot  his  foul  wrongs  against 
her  in  the  past — the  barbarous  torture  of  a  child,  the 
despicable  mandate  which  led  to  her  desperate  plight, 
and  above  all  the  ruthless  incarceration  of  her  lover  in 
the  tomb.  Ignoring  these  deeds  of  darkness  as  though 


they  had  never  been  he  plumed  himself  on  his  circum- 
spection, his  foresight,  his  excellent  arrangements. 

Veronica  would  forget  everything  else.  For  her  there 
would  be  no  Past,  only  a  glorious,  unending  to-day. 

Already  they  had  left  the  ordinary  highway  to  sur- 
mount a  ridge  from  which  the  track  dropped  into  a  nar- 
row valley  sparsely  overrun  with  live  oak  and  aromatic 
scrub.  When  the  full  glare  of  the  day  shone  down  on 
the  riders  a  halt  was  called.  The  herbage  between  the 
rocks  was  scanty.  Puffs  of  heat  gave  back  from  the 
stone-ridden  earth. 

Veronica  asked  if  they  were  at  last  approaching  the  end 
of  the  journey.  Kosen  gave  an  answer  meant  to  be  re- 
assuring. It  was  decidedly  evasive.  "While  they  pur- 
sued their  way  in  the  afternoon  on  a  rugged  path  between 
wide  expanses  of  fields  already  ripe  for  the  Syrian  har- 
vest, she  dwelt  distrustfully  on  his  words.  Looking 
ahead  and  around  she  could  find  no  trace  as  yet  of  the 
more  luscious  vegetation  of  the  fertile  littoral  for  which 
they  were  bound.  Nor  were  they  traveling  with  the  sun, 
as  at  this  time  of  day  they  should. 

Yet  fear  of  personal  danger  had  dried  up  within  her 
as  completely  as  an  eastern  brook  in  summer.  Only  she 
wanted  to  get  on.  The  intervals  of  rest  were  too  long  to 
please  her.  They  were  irksome,  when  like  a  homing 
pigeon  the  bent  of  her  whole  desire  was  towards  the  goal 
ahead. 

Then  to  her  dismay  and  infinite  annoyance  came  an- 
other unexpected  halt.  Sunset  was  still  an  hour  away. 

The  guide  had  been  stopped  by  a  man  on  a  donkey 
coming  to  meet  them.  At  once  the  advance  escort  drew 
rein  and  gathered  round.  Rosen  called  out  angrily  and 
then  rode  forward. 


254        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"You  had  better  wait  till  I  see  what  they  are  stopping 
for,"  he  called  to  Veronica. 

She  pulled  up  her  mare  and  sat  back  in  her  saddle 
waiting.  Otto  Rosen  dismounted  and  talked  energet- 
ically with  his  kawass.  The  man  seemed  excited.  He 
gesticulated  in  the  suggestive  manner  of  an  Arabic  story- 
teller. 

Veronica's  curiosity  was  stirred  as  she  studied  the 
whole  group.  Suddenly  Rosen  looked  back,  caught  her 
questioning  look,  moved  further  away  and  again  stood  in 
close  confab  with  the  kawass. 

In  a  few  minutes  he  turned  slowly  back,  walking 
deliberately  with  an  absorbed  air  and  pulling  at 
his  mustache.  The  kawass  followed  him,  leading  the 
mare. 

"What  is  wrong?"  she  called  anxiously,  bending  for- 
ward with  an  eager  look. 

"Nothing  of  real  consequence  except  that  there  is  no 
accommodation  of  any  description  in  the  village  further 
on  where  we  meant  to  put  up  to-night.  It  is  too  late  to 
ride  on  to  the  next  suitable  place.  In  addition  no  one 
seems  to  know  much  about  it.  If  you  have  no  objection 
•we  will  camp  out  to-night. ' ' 

"I  should  much  prefer  to  continue  our  journey. 
Every  hour  is  of  consequence  to  me,"  she  said,  pro- 
testingly. 

"We  are  bound  to  rest  the  animals  and  also  pitch  tents 
in  a  suitable  spot.  This  will  be  found  a  good  mile 
further  on.  I  have  ordered  the  mules  to  go  ahead." 

"You  seem  to  have  finished  your  official  visits  so  why 
can't  we  go  straight  on  and  finish  with  this  tedious 
journeyv"  she  said,  with  a  touch  of  her  old  petulance 
towards  hint 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       255 

"Only  have  confidence  in  me,  Veronica,"  he  said, 
quietly,  his  eyes  searching  her  face  which  looked  at  the 
moment  worn  and  eager.  "All  our  plans  are  arranged 
entirely  for  your  safety  and  greater  comfort." 

She  knitted  her  brows  looking  darkly  over  his  head 
while  she  gathered  up  the  slackened  reins. 

"At  any  rate  now  we  can  ride  on  I  suppose,"  she  said, 
coldly,  "if  those  men  will  only  clear  out  of  the  way." 

"Certainly,"  he  said,  shortly,  turning  with  a  frown  to 
his  horse.  They  rode  on  to  the  camping  ground  without 
exchanging  further  words. 

She  reflected  it  was  impolitic  to  anger  him  gratuitously 
much  as  it  eased  her  own  feelings  towards  him.  For 
in  that  case  he  was  quite  capable  of  thwarting  and  delay- 
ing her  on  purpose.  She  would  have  preferred  to  remain 
in  her  tent  but  again  prudence  prevailed  in  drawing  her 
to  sit  out  of  doors  for  the  evening  meal,  and  later  to 
recline  in  one  of  the  folding  chairs  placed  for  their 
greater  ease  in  the  door  of  the  dinner  tent. 

She  accepted  a  cigarette  but  remained  obviously  dis- 
inclined for  conversation.  Rosen  watched  her  uneasily 
while  he  also  smoked.  Her  silence  was  meditative  rather 
than  resentful  he  felt. 

He  wondered  how  best  he  could  meet  her  mood,  or 
indeed  rouse  her  out  of  it.  After  making  a  few  remarks 
to  which  she  barely  replied,  he  got  up  suddenly  and  went 
into  his  tent.  In  a  few  moments  he  came  out  carrying 
his  violin. 

Veronica's  eyes  were  closed  when  he  took  his  seat. 
She  did  not  move  till  the  sweet  long  drawn  out  notes  of 
a  favorite  melody  dropped  into  the  silence  of  the  evening 
air.  With  a  jerking  shuddering  movement  as  if  jarred 
in  every  nerve  of  her  body  she  sat  up. 


256        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Stop!"  she  gasped.  "I  cannot  bear  it.  It  is  heart- 
less of  you. ' ' 

"But  I  thought — I  hoped — "  he  stammered,  com- 
pletely dumbfounded. 

"You  have  no  right  to  think  or  to  dare  to  hope  I  could 
endure  it,"  she  said  in  a  low  and  tense  voice,  clenching 
her  hands.  "How  can  it  possibly  cause  me  anything  but 
horror  and  grief  to  listen  to  your  music  when  I  am  here 
torn  from  everything  and  everybody  I  love  and  care  for. 
It  makes  me  suffer  intolerably  and  you  ought  to  know  it. ' ' 

She  vanished  into  her  tent.  He  remained  motionless 
still  hugging  his  beloved  instrument  while  his  bow  re- 
mained suspended  in  his  hand.  Beneath  the  immobility, 
jealousy  still  smoldering  in  his  heart  flared  up  again 
wildly,  though  outwardly  it  showed  not  at  all. 

By  degrees  he  seemed  to  come  to  himself.  He  retired 
to  his  tent  and  stayed  in  it  a  little  while.  He  was  in  an 
evil  mood  when  presently  he  came  out.  He  summoned 
his  kawass  at  once,  gave  a  few  short  orders  to  the  head 
camp  attendants,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  off  with  a 
guard  of  soldiers. 

The  village  a  mile  or  two  to  the  north  was  his  goal. 
He  wished  to  verify  the  reports  about  a  large  caravan  of 
Armenians  with  which  the  local  khans  were  stated  to  be 
packed.  He  had  some  inquiries  to  make  of  another 
nature,  and  more  than  one  important  visit  to  pay. 

At  the  khans  he  was  confronted  with  scenes  of  un- 
speakable and  pitiful  misery.  Every  room,  the  roofs, 
the  colonnades  and  terraces  were  crowded  with  the  un- 
happy deported  people,  chiefly  women,  children  and  a 
few  old  men.  The  Turkish  gendarmes  had  given  them 
a  day's  rest  on  account  of  the  large  number  of  sick. 
Many  of  these  had  already  died. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        257 

Here  Rosen  had  planned  to  pass  the  night,  but  he  had 
spared  Veronica  the  pain  of  these  harrowing  sights. 
Did  she  realize,  or  in  any  way  appreciate  his  overwhelm- 
ing consideration? 

Not  in  the  least.  Nor  would  she  ever  do  so  unless  in 
some  way  he  could  contrive  to  bring  some  such  drastic 
facts  as  these  before  her  notice,  and  demonstrate  by 
actual  contrast  the  intolerable  fate  from  which  he  alone 
had  power  and  the  will  to  snatch  her  away. 

Before  he  left  the  village  he  had  discovered  all  he 
wanted  to  know  and  paid  his  visits.  In  accordance  with 
his  information  he  made  his  plans  for  the  next  day.  It 
would  not  be  as  long  nor  as  tiring  as  usual  though  for  his 
secret  purpose  it  would  be  all  that  was  required. 

A  curious  glow  of  exultation  was  in  his  eyes  when  he 
came  back  to  the  camp  and  turned  in  for  the  night.  It 
was  the  look  of  mingled  malice  and  satisfaction  summed 
up  in  the  expressive  double-barreled  word,  "Schaden- 
freude." 


CHAPTER  XX 

ROSEN  had  told  Veronica  the  truth  about  her  lover. 
The  Frenchman,  he  feared  as  a  rival  and  hated  as 
his  enemy,  had  been  shut  up  at  his  instigation  in  an 
isolated  tower  tomb.  It  was  one  of  several  remnants  of 
an  ancient  necropolis  on  a  bluff  above  the  important  vil- 
lage of  El  Marasch. 

That  stifled  cry  in  the  lane  had  been  no  fancy  of  Ver- 
onica's brain.  Pierre  Marson  had  been  waylaid.  Armed 
men  had  fallen  upon  him  like  hounds  upon  a  fox,  bound 
and  carried  him  off  all  in  a  few  seconds.  His  first 
coherent  thought,  after  the  surprise,  was  of  glad  relief 
that  it  had  not  occurred  before  he  had  been  able  to  warn 
the  Severin  family  of  many  impending  serious  dangers, 
and  to  give  Veronica  grave  injunctions,  together  with  a 
small  automatic  revolver  he  had  brought  with  him  from 
France  for  that  purpose. 

Kahoum  Pasha,  pleased  to  prove  the  superiority  of 
Oriental  prescience  over  the  crude  methods  of  a  German 
consul,  had  lost  no  time  in  acquainting  Rosen  with  his 
capture. 

The  two  enemies  brought  face  to  face,  the  one  so  indis- 
putably at  the  mercy  of  the  other,  stared  fixedly  at  each 
other.  Pierre  Marson 's  eyes,  cold  and  profound  as  jet, 
showed  no  signal  of  fear  or  agitation.  The  malevolence 
of  Rosen's  gaze  had  a  something  in  it  at  once  exulting 
and  calculating. 

"What  do  you  mean  to  do  with  this  cursed  son  of  a 
dog?"  he  asked  the  pasha  with  a  harsh  laugh. 

258 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        259 

"He  will  be  examined  and  then  courtmartialed. " 

"I  can  tell  you  a  better  way  of  punishing  a  French 
spy.  Do  you  know  the  story  of  the  prisoners  of 
Amasia  ? ' ' 

"Maybe,  but  it  has  slipped  from  my  mind.  Unfold 
it,  effendi,  whose  life  Allah  preserve!" 

The  narrative  related  with  spiteful  and  facetious 
humor  by  Rosen  at  once  tickled  the  fancy  of  Turkish  offi- 
cialdom, which  revels  in  the  discovery  of  new  shades 
of  inhumanity  to  vary  its  administration  of  justice. 

Kahoum  Pasha,  to  whom  the  German's  mind  was  an 
open  book,  personally  overflowed  with  an  ironical  amuse- 
ment that  induced  him  to  enter  with  alacrity  into  the 
pleasantry  of  renewing  an  episode  similar  to  that  of 
a  century  ago. 

"The  tale  that  is  past  shall  live  again.  Inshallah,  it 
shall  be  told  in  the  ears  of  children  yet  unborn,"  he  de- 
clared. 

Pierre  Marson  kept  rigid  silence.  Not  a  muscle  be- 
trayed that  he  either  understood  or  cared  what  that  igno- 
ble German  related.  After  all,  he  told  himself,  it  was 
but  another  example  of  the  loathsome  methods  which  the 
Huns  were  carrying  out  wholesale  wherever  they  fought 
and  foregathered.  Coarse  badinage  and  gibe  of  the  help- 
less was  one  of  their  favorite  pastimes.  If  so  many 
others  had  to  endure  it,  and  did  so  with  a  stoicism  that 
was  heroic,  he  also  could  stand  anything  and  everything. 

Above  all,  he  vowed  inwardly,  the  cur  should  not  be 
gratified  by  seeing  him  flinch  or  display  the  smallest  con- 
cern. 

Only  one  sentence  pierced  him  secretly — he  will  ~be  ex- 
amined— for  by  that  he  understood  Kahoum  Pasha  to 
mean  the  various  torturing  methods  by  which  Turkish 


260        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

justice  removes  the  lock  of  silence  from  a  prisoner's  lips. 
Not  in  all  cases  to  release  the  unvarnished  truth  for,  more 
often  than  not,  the  hapless  victim  will  babble  in  his  agony 
any  mortal  thing,  whether  truth  or  falsehood,  that  will 
gratify  the  demands  of  his  torturers. 

A  week  went  by  before  Marson  was  taken  at  night  out 
of  the  city,  aching  and  maltreated  in  every  part  of  his 
body.  He  doubted  if  he  would  ever  be  able  to  use  his 
right  foot  or  left  arm  again,  so  severely  had  they  been 
"questioned"  in  the  press.  That  is  to  say,  he  considered 
ruefully,  if  fate  still  reserved  any  opportunity  in  store 
for  him  to  exercise  their  functions  in  the  future. 

He  was  fully  aware  of  the  kind  of  captivity  that 
awaited  him.  He  knew  that  his  enemies  alone  would 
know  where  he  was  hidden  away ;  that  deprivation  would 
weaken  him  still  more;  and  that  the  agony  and  strain 
of  solitary  confinement  would  prey  insiduously  upon  him, 
body  and  soul. 

Still  he  had  no  intention  of  renouncing  hope.  There 
was  a  remedy  for  every  evil  under  the  sun.  The  wisest 
of  men  had  said  so.  He  was  an  Oriental  and  ought  to 
know !  Prisoners  of  the  Bastille  had  once  never  dreamed 
of  liberty.  Martyrs  of  Russian  autocracy  had  escaped 
from  their  prisons  after  appalling  experiences  to  work 
out  a  new  existence  in  a  foreign  land. 

He  hated  to  reflect  though,  that  things  would  have  been 
worse  for  him  but  for  the  intervention  of  the  German 
consul,  who  had  been  present  at  the  latest  cross-examina- 
tion. 

"This  Frenchman  has  the  obstinacy  of  a  thousand 
mules,"  Kahoum  Pasha  had  said.  "Now  we  will  see 
what  the  cord  will  press  out  of  him." 

And  the  merciless  cord  tied  round  his  head  had  been 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        261 

slowly  tightened  till  the  whole  framework  of  his  skull 
had  seemed  to  be  crushing  together  like  a  squeezed  egg 
shell.  His  eyes  had  bulged  horribly  and  felt  ready  to 
drop  from  their  sockets. 

Even  in  his  agony  Pierre  had  seen  the  face  of  Rosen 
watching  him  with  a  something  crafty  and  devilish  in  its 
expression.  How  the  man  hated  him ! 

Yet  it  was  Rosen  who^had  called  a  halt  to  the  torture. 
A  speedy  death  was  not  the  death  he  desired  to  mete  out 
to  his  enemy,  but  the  continuous  purgatory  of  just  such 
a  living  death  as  that  of  the  prisoners  of  Amasia. 
Obsessed  with  the  resolve  to  force  Pierre  Marson  to  the 
torments  of  a  like  ordeal,  he  also  burned  with  an  evil  im- 
patience for  the  durance  to  begin. 

"It  is  enough,  Excellency!  I  have  already  asked  his 
life  as  a  favor  to  myself, ' '  Rosen  had  said,  dreading  that 
the  Frenchman  would  expire  under  their  eyes. 

"Pish!  The  fellow  is  a  fool.  He  deserves  to  die," 
but  all  the  same  the  pasha  had  given  a  signal  that  put  an 
end  to  the  torture. 

Kahoum  had  once  been  Mudir  of  El  Marasch  and  dis- 
trict. Turning  over  in  his  mind  likely  places  to  meet 
the  curious  fancy  of  the  German  consul,  and  wishing  to 
choose  one  not  too  near  Opella,  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  one  of  the  old  tower  tombs  on  the  hill  above  El 
Marasch  would  exactly  suit  the  purpose.  Amasia  itself, 
two  or  three  hundred  miles  away,  was  out  of  the  question, 
but  a  distance  of  twenty  miles  was  a  bagatelle  to  arrange. 

So  it  was  to  El  Marasch  that  Pierre  was  brought.  And 
that  he  should  have  no  knowledge  of  the  way  by  which 
he  had  come  or  the  position  of  his  prison,  he  was  blind- 
folded before  reaching  the  village.  A  few  yards  from 
the  tomb  the  bandage  was  removed  from  his  eyes. 


262        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

He  stood  before  a  curious  little  tower  of  which  die 
summit  was  tumbling  in  ruins  while  the  substructure  was 
still  massive,  unbroken  and  strong.  A  great  pile  of 
stones  to  one  side  of  the  narrow  doorway  showed  that  this 
had  recently  been  cleared. 

The  guard  of  men  in  whose  charge  he  had  ridden  the 
twenty  miles  were  not  altogether  bad  fellows.  His  fluent 
Arabic  had  made  a  bridge  between  them.  He  had  con- 
trived to  hide  some  of  his  money  during  the  terrible  week 
just  gone  by.  By  a  discreet  use  of  backsheesh  he  man- 
aged on  the  way  to  secure  a  precious  little  store  of  tobacco 
and  matches  that  were  to  bring  him  unutterable  solace 
in  some  of  the  darkest  hours  to  come. 

But  arrived  at  the  journey's  end  all  amenities  ceased 
abruptly.  The  charge  of  the  prisoner  was  handed  over  to 
local  authority.  Under  pain  of  direst  penalty  there  was 
to  be  no  remittance  in  the  strict  and  constant  guard  upon 
this  living  inmate  of  the  tomb.  Day  and  night  the  spot 
had  to  be  watched.  The  prisoner  was  one  of  high  and 
particular  importance.  He  was  to  be  supplied  with 
food  and  drink,  frugally,  plainly,  once  only  during  every 
twenty-four  hours. 

Pierre  cast  a  lingering  look  at  the  sky.  Then  he  gave 
a  sweeping  glance  over  the  rock-strewn  plateau  noting 
that  there  were  other  towers,  bigger  and  smaller  than  his, 
scattered  about. 

With  a  flash  of  grim  humor  he  wondered  if  per- 
chance German  "tender  mercy"  and  Turkish  devilry 
had  between  them  evolved  the  notion  of  converting  this 
ancient  burial  ground  into  an  internment  camp  for  others 
of  the  living.  As  far  as  he  could  see  there  was  no  human 
habitation  of  to-day  anywhere  in  the  vicinity. 

Suddenly  he  was  given  to  understand  he  must  enter 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        263 

the  tower  at  once  without  any  ado.  He  shrugged  his 
shoulders  with  the  air  of  one  who  knows  it  is  useless  to 
resist. 

"Le  vin  est  tire.  II  faut  le  boire,"  he  muttered,  and 
without  another  word  he  stepped  inside. 

The  moment  had  come  for  giving  in  to  fate.  But  not 
blindly,  stupidly.  He  would  know  the  exact  nature  and 
extent  of  his  prison,  and  be  quite  sure  that  he  was  not  to 
share  it  with  snakes  or  scorpions  or  other  vermin  of  the 
kind.  While  the  pile  of  stones  was  being  noisily  re- 
placed in  the  entrance  he  closely  investigated  floor  and 
ceiling  of  the  interior,  together  with  the  narrow  stone 
shelves  which  had  once  been  resting  places  for  the  dead. 

An  interval  of  suspense  when  he  watched,  his  spirits  at 
zero,  fearing  that  every  scrap  of  daylight  was  to  be 
walled  out.  He  knew  better  than  to  express  his  own 
views  on  the  matter. 

Then  came  the  reaction  which  by  contrast  was  akin  to 
rejoicing.  The  devils  had  left  him  an  oblong  aperture 
at  the  top  of  the  doorway.  A  peep  of  the  sky,  the  vitaliz- 
ing air  of  heaven  were  yet  to  be  his  priceless  possessions. 

"Why,  he  was  in  clover  compared  with  a  poilu  in  a 
water-logged  dug-out !  His  first  rapid  thought  cemented 
into  a  resolve  to  cherish  the  fancy  that  he  was  acting 
lonely  sentry  in  an  advance  outpost,  and  that  his  com- 
rades, though  out  of  sight,  were  not  far  distant. 

En  garde!  always  and  unceasingly.  Never  to  lose 
grip  of  his  will  or  of  his  tortured  mind.  To  keep  both 
fixed  stubbornly  on  the  hope— however  remote— of  some 
respite,  or  change,  or  release. 

This  was  the  hard  almost  impossible  task  Pierre  Marson 
imposed  upon  his  soul.  And  the  chances  were  that  he 
might  emerge  triumphantly  for  he  was  made  of  sterner 


264        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

and  more  virile  stuff  than  many  men.  For  it  was  not 
the  body  that  would  conquer  in  this  unnatural  setting  of 
existence,  but  the  something  intangible  of  the  spirit,  that 
works  invisibly,  that  spark  which  feeds  with  its  immortal 
fire  its  tenement  of  clay,  however  hard  pressed,  to  the 
very  verge  of  dissolution. 

And  he  was  glad,  inexpressibly,  even  rapturously  glad, 
that  not  once  had  he  been  tempted  to  let  a  message  slip 
secretly  through  to  the  Severin  family.  Not  a  syllable  of 
vital  importance  had  his  torturers  gleaned  for  all  the 
pains  of  their  inquisitorial  inquiries.  What  was  serious 
in  contemplating  possible  chances  of  escape  was  the 
danger  of  engulfing  friends  who  might  help,  into  as  deep 
a  pit  as  he  had  dug  for  himself. 

For  this  reason  he  had  not  ventured  on  the  least  effort 
to  acquaint  Veronica  with  his  plight.  He  hugged  the 
notion  to  himself  that  nothing  could  or  would  arise  to 
harm  her  in  any  way.  That  the  German  consul  would 
be  a  menace  to  people  who  were  his  friends  he  had  failed 
utterly  to  grasp.  The  special  malice  to  himself  he  at- 
tributed to  the  microbe  of  hate  sedulously  cultivated  by 
the  Hun  for  his  enemy. 

By  now,  he  considered,  Veronica  would  be  far  enough 
away  from  Opella,  in  comparative  safety.  Prayers  of 
thankfulness  filled  his  soul  that  she  would  have  no  idea 
at  all  of  the  calamity  that  had  overtaken  him.  His 
silence  she  would  naturally  expect,  though  he  divined 
more  than  ever  by  his  own  emotions  the  measure  of  the 
grief  which  had  followed  their  leave-taking. 

He  had  the  power  of  calling  up  the  image  of  his  love, 
vividly,  realistically ;  the  blue,  fathomless  eyes  and  above 
them  the  black  of  her  glorious  hair,  then  the  sweeping 
brows,  the  sweet  firm  lips  with  their  ravishing  curves. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        265 

It  was  a  magic  he  indulged  in  through  many  still  and 
wakeful  hours.  These,  by  the  very  hopelessness  of  the 
vision,  were  followed  invariably  by  days  when  he  was 
only  conscious  of  a  steady  mist  of  pain,  and  a  sea  of 
dumb  depression. 

For  in  such  hours  he  mourned  for  the  black  agony  of 
France,  and  his  powerlessness  to  continue  and  fulfill  the 
service  for  which  he  had  braved  every  peril  that  meets 
and  pursues  both  the  military  and  civilian  secret  agent 
in  time  of  war.  For  his  particular  task,  intricate,  and, 
if  successful,  to  prove  of  infinite  value  to  the  Foreign 
Office,  a  man  of  his  linguistic  abilities  and  thoroughly 
in  touch  with  Oriental  mentality  had  been  essential. 

He  also  had  the  mortification  to  brood  over,  that  but 
for  his  turning  aside  from  his  prearranged  scheme  of 
action  to  what  was  in  truth  a  personal  affair  he  might 
still  have  been  a  free  man.  For  he  had  no  inkling  of 
how  Kahoum  Pasha's  agents  had  marked  down  and  fol- 
lowed him  from  the  moment  of  his  disembarkation  on 
Asiatic  soil  from  a  little  Greek  steamer. 

Constantly  brooding  and  thrown  back  upon  the  re- 
sources of  his  own  mind,  thoughts  of  war  in  the  ab- 
stract would  come  to  him  again  and  again.  He  reflected 
how  often  it  happens  that  the  price  of  war  is  injustice, 
because  it  does  not  always  settle  what  is  right.  And 
why?  Because  war  simply  proves  that  might  is  right, 
in  a  word  settles  which  combatant  is  the  stronger,  and 
not  whether  his  cause  be  just  or  unjust.  History  records 
time  and  again  how  the  just  cause  has  often  been  lost 
in  war,  and  the  unjust  has  triumphed. 

Then  if  might  be  the  ruling  force  of  this  earth,  are 
we  not  all  blind  creatures  of  fate,  he  would  ask  himself, 
or  do  we  make  or  mar  our  own  destiny?  It  seemed 


266        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

strange  to  him  that  men  should  fear  anything  at  all. 
Death  would  come  when  it  had  a  mind  to  come  and  not  a 
second  sooner  or  later. 

And  then  as  if  chased  by  a  thousand  invisible  devils 
he  would  start  up  and  limp  incessantly  up  and  down  and 
round  his  cage  of  stone,  hailing  the  persistent  ache  of 
his  foot  as  a  door  which  shut  out  his  thoughts.  He 
would  count  his  steps,  and  measure  them  mentally  in 
centimetres,  metres,  kilometres.  He  ticked  off  the  days 
one  by  one  by  scratching  with  a  stone  on  a  slab  of  rock. 

Times  came  when  he  tried  not  to  think  at  all  but  to 
blot  out  everything  by  singing  lustily,  songs  of  war  and 
"la  Patrie,"  to  be  followed  by  operatic  snatches,  and 
often  a  thrilling  and  tender  love  song. 

"Allah  has  certainly  taken  his  wits,"  one  watchman 
said  to  the  other  significantly  the  first  time  they  heard 
these  songs. 

"Wallah!  He  is  mad — majnun,"  assented  the  other, 
at  once  starting  a  wailing  chant  on  his  own  account. 

Thus  the  days  went  by,  and  the  weeks,  and  still  Pierre 
kept  his  reason,  and  never  did  he  so  far  lose  grip  of  his 
will  as  to  sink  in  spirit  to  the  bedrock  of  despair. 

Not  once  but  a  score  of  times  he  conned  over  every 
instance  he  could  recollect  in  fact  and  fiction  of  men 
who  had  made  good  their  escape  from  prisons  far  harder 
to  break  than  his  own.  He  nursed  the  notion  that  with 
time  there  would  come  a  slackening  in  supervision,  or 
that  other  watchmen  might  be  placed  on  duty  who  would 
be  amenable  to  a  bribe.  But  for  both  these  possibilities 
he  must  hold  his  soul  in  patience.  Premature  action 
would  but  prove  a  foregone  disaster. 
Yet  so  prone  is  a  captive  to  hope  or  to  dread  that  he 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       267 

seeks  a  mystery  in  the  slightest  unusual  sound  he  hears. 
So  that  it  happened  one  evening  when  Pierre  watched 
the  strip  of  sky  he  called  his  window  suddenly  take  on 
the  gloom  of  night,  his  sharpened  ears  caught  a  sound 
of  footsteps  walking  upon  stony  ground. 

"Was  he  going  to  be  freed?  This  was  his  first  swift 
thought. 

Cool  reason  took  its  place.  He  smiled  bitterly  at  his 
own  folly,  recalling  the  isolation  of  his  prison  and  the 
remote  probability  that  any  one  likely  to  procure  his  re- 
lease would  ever  be  able  to  find  him  out. 

Yet  footsteps  certainly  approached.  It  was  not  the 
hour  for  his  dole  of  food  and  drink.  Should  he  hazard 
a  cry  before  the  unknown  pedestrians  passed  on  without 
knowing  a  fellow  creature  was  immured  in  this  tomb  ? 

Still  another  thought !  He  laid  a  shaking  hand  on  his 
damp  forehead.  Perhaps  they  were  coming  to  kill  him 
as  once  those  prisoners  of  Amasia  were  killed.  Mur- 
derers choosing  to  veil  their  crime  in  the  shade  of  night. 

Now  the  footsteps  stopped,  though  further  away  he 
still  heard  a  curious  shuffling  as  of  native  slippers  over 
the  stones.  Yes,  there  was  no  doubt  of  it.  Out  of  reach 
of  all  aid,  like  a  rat  in  a  trap,  he  was  to  die. 

He  braced  himself  for  the  inevitable,  expecting  every 
instant  to  hear  an  attack  on  the  barricade  of  the  door- 
way. 

Was  it  delusion,  or  had  some  one  called  him  by  name  ? 
He  stood  up  suddenly. 

"Marson!  Are  you  there?"  asked  a  voice  in  guttural 
French. 

"Who  speaks?"  said  Pierre,  after  a  small  pause. 

"Rosen,  the  German  consul!     I  am  in  camp  outside 


268        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

the  village.  It  may  interest  you  to  hear  that  Mademoi- 
selle Severin  is  in  camp  with  me." 

A  pause  again  as  if  a  sharp  wind  had  caught  the 
breath  of  the  listener  within.  Then — 

' '  You  lie ! "  shot  fiercely  into  the  night. 

"It  is  the  plain  truth.  She  is  in  camp  with  me.  We 
have  been  traveling  together  for  a  week.  We  shall  be 
married  in  a  few  days." 

"Liar!" 

"Listen  well  to  what  I  say!  The  French  army  is  at 
its  last  gasp.  The  English  have  evacuated  Gallipoli. 
The  Central  Powers  are  smashing  the  damned  Entente 
hand  over  fist. ' ' 

"You  devil!  You  cur!"  Pierre's  voice  was  hoarse, 
horribly  hoarse. 

"Au  revoir!" 

Otto  Rosen  had  not  purposely  made  tracks  for  El 
Marasch.  It  was  one  of  the  suitable  rest  places  that  came 
into  the  cross-country  itinerary  he  had  planned. 

When  he  had  realized  the  fact  at  an  earlier  hour  of 
the  journey  he  had  glowed  inwardly.  Not  that  he  had 
meant  Veronica  to  glean  the  slightest  suspicion  that 
might  unsettle  her  mind  through  commiseration.  But 
he  had  promised  himself,  as  far  as  the  detestable  French- 
man was  concerned,  a  revengeful  stroke  full  of  the 
vicious  humor  which,  being  a  German  at  war,  was  as 
manna  to  his  mean  soul. 

Somehow  during  the  later  stage  of  the  journey  his 
desire  had  spluttered  out.  But  for  Veronica's  angry 
attack  upon  his  violin  they  would  have  passed  harmlessly 
on  their  way.  He  would  not  have  visited  El  Marasch 
at  all.  Well  would  it  have  been  for  him  if  he  had 
refrained.  Fate  has  a  way  of  letting  the  cunning  at 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        269 

times  overreach  and  trip  themselves  in, the  meshes  of 
the  snare  they  lay  for  others. 

Sweat  poured  from  Pierre  Marson's  forehead  when  he 
was  left  alone.  By  daylight  his  face  would  have  been 
seen  to  be  knotted  with  harsh  deep  wrinkles  and  twists. 
He  was  breathing  hard. 

The  bare  innuendo  that  his  Veronica  was  in  the  power 
of  such  a  villain  started  a  chill  through  every  vein, 
and  then  immediately  filled  him  with  a  rage  so  violent 
that  he  could  have  shouted  and  screamed  at  the  top  of 
his  voice. 

But  give  the  taunting  monster  a  chance  to  gibe  again  ? 
Not  likely !  He  knew  it  was  a  lie,  a  diabolic  lie,  he  told 
himself;  but  if  there  were  the  smallest  substratum  of 
truth  in  the  horrible  statement  it  would  be  certain  she 
was  there,  a  captive  against  her  will. 

At  this  point  he  started  to  curse  in  a  low  level  voice. 
It  was  an  outlet  that  saved  him  from  losing  his  senses, 
though  for  the  moment  he  had  certainly  come  to  the  end 
of  hope. 

"Courage!"  was  suddenly  uttered  in  his  own  tongue, 
in  a  low  penetrating  whisper  through  the  aperture  of  the 
doorway. 

Pierre  jumped  to  his  feet  and  rushed  like  a  bull  at  the 
barricade  of  stones.  He  thought  that  Rosen  was  still 
there,  listening  to  the  effect  of  his  disclosures,  and  now 
piling  a  degrading  insult  upon  the  foul  blow  he  had  al- 
ready dealt. 

"Patience  and  hope  for  a  few  days,  perhaps  a  week," 
said  the  same  low  voice.  ' '  I  dare  not  stay.  A  bientot ! ' ' 

A  small  package  came  flying  through  the  aperture  and 
dropped  at  Pierre's  feet.  He  picked  it  up  with  the  feel- 
ing of  one  who  dreams  and  dreads  to  waken.  He  listened 


270        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

to  the  soft  stealthy  footsteps  moving  away,  and  the 
sound  of  them  growing  fainter  and  fainter  upon  the 
silence  of  the  night. 

Then  suddenly  he  heard  the  guards  talking  again. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  second  morning  after  Veronica's  resentful  out- 
burst she  opened  her  eyes  with  a  singular  feeling  of 
refreshment.  She  had  felt  languid  and  inexpressibly 
weary  the  whole  of  the  previous  day  after  a  white  night 
in  which  she  had  tossed  from  side  to  side,  haunted  hour 
after  hour  by  a  despondency  that  was  own  twin  to 
despair. 

But  this  last  night,  just  over,  she  had  slept  so  well  that 
she  did  not  once  open  her  eyes  till  the  pale  light  of 
dawn  was  peering  through  the  canvas  walls. 

She  got  up  noiselessly  so  as  not  to  awaken  the  woman, 
dressed  swiftly,  unfastened  the  flap  of  the  tent  and 
slipped  through  its  uncovered  mouth.  Once  in  the  open 
she  drew  in  the  air  of  the  young  morning  as  though  a 
draught  of  spring  water  were  at  her  lips. 

Then  she  looked  around.  Not  a  creature  was  yet 
astir.  The  group  of  tents  sheltered  by  a  clump  of  trees 
seemed  asleep.  Behind  these  stretched  the  black  line 
of  tethered  horses  and  mules.  Further  away,  round  the 
dead  embers  of  the  camp  fire  slumbered  the  soldiers  and 
mukaris,  huddled  in  their  Eastern  cloaks.  Even  the 
sentry  had  squatted  down,  over-powered  by  sleep,  his 
face  hidden  between  his  arms. 

While  Veronica  dressed,  the  notion  had  come  to  her 
she  would  like  to  dip  her  face  in  the  stream  of  which,  last 
evening,  she  had  caught  a  glimpse,  through  the  reeds 
and  bushes  of  its  banks,  before  riding  into  camp.  She 

271 


272        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

could  now  trace  its  course  about  a  mile  away  at  the  foot 
of  a  long  slope,  descending  from  the  high  ground  where 
the  camp  was  pitched. 

Quickly  and  apparently  unobserved  she  hurried  over 
the  scrub  strewn  ground.  Perhaps,  while  all  was  still 
and  deserted,  she  might  even  bathe  in  the  little  river  as 
so  often  she  had  done  in  holiday  time  in  the  sheltered 
pools  of  Lebanon. 

Dawn  was  painting  the  eastern  sky  above  the  distant 
ridge  across  the  valley  in  crimson  and  gold,  with  great 
flaming  splashes,  and  streamers  of  the  color  of  blood. 

A  strange  desolate  feeling  stole  to  meet  her  through 
the  cool  loneliness  of  the  morn.  As  she  drew  near  to 
the  hidden  stream,  through  openings  in  the  thicket,  she 
was  able  to  glimpse  the  water  beyond.  The  color  of  the 
water  was  red,  the  blood-red  color  of  the  eastern  sky. 

The  reflection  of  that  gorgeous  sunrise,  she  told  her- 
self, yet  her  step  lingered  in  approach,  and  a  sudden 
look  of  fear  darkened  her  eyes.  Some  premonition  urged 
her  to  turn  back  at  once,  but  like  a  magnet  the  lure  of 
the  river  prevailed. 

Now  she  was  near  enough  to  push  a  way  through  the 
thin  line  of  tamarisks  and  willows,  but  she  stopped  of 
a  sudden  with  uplifted  head.  A  smell  was  in  her  nostrils 
that  she  could  not  mistake — the  unspeakable  stench  of 
death. 

Again  she  moved  forward,  like  one  mesmerized,  but 
now  at  a  creeping  pace.  She  shuddered,  her  teeth 
chattered,  as  cowering  close  to  the  water  edge  she  peered 
through  the  bushes.  Her  brain  reeled  at  the  sight  re- 
vealed to  her  stupefied  gaze. 

Great  Christ !  Was  she  herself  alive  and  awake  ?  Or 
was  she  in  the  bonds  of  as  frightful  a  nightmare  as  was 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        273 

ever  conceived  by  human  imagination  ?    In  all  the  world 
it  seemed  to  her  she  was  the  only  being  left  alive. 

For  death  and  only  death  confronted  her  in  its  most 
ghastly  form.  Corpses  by  the  hundred  lay  thick  as 
fallen  leaves  everywhere  her  sight  could  reach,  on  the 
rocks,  up  and  down  the  banks,  among  the  bushes  on  the 
river  brink,  and  choking  the  stream.  Corpses  of  men 
pierced  by  bullet  and  sword;  of  women  mangled  and 
stripped  of  all  covering  but  their  trailing  hair ;  of  little 
children  slaughtered  like  sheep,  lying  naked  and  huddled 
together  by  their  mothers'  side. 

It  was  a  blood  curdling  spectacle.  And,  though  Ver- 
onica did  not  know  it,  such  sights  were  of  daily  occur- 
rence. Innocent  Armenians  of  all  ages  were  being  mas- 
sacred in  tens  of  thousands  in  the  most  devilish  and  tor- 
turing fashion  that  the  brutality  of  Turk  and  Kurd 
could  devise.  Not  a  finger  was  lifted  by  Germany  to 
stop  it,  nor  as  yet  a  protest  by  any  neutral  nation  to  com- 
pel Turkey  to  stay  her  hand. 

Beads  of  water  broke  out  on  Veronica's  temples.  An 
irrepressible  cry  of  anguish  was  wrung  from  her  dried 
lips. 

"0  my  God,  give  me  strength!"  burst  from  her. 
"Strength  for  vengeance — vengeance!" 

But  were  they  all  dead  ?  Might  there  not  be  one  fellow 
being  she  could  save  and  drag  back  to  life?  One  of 
those  babes  perhaps,  or  that  young  girl  lying  with  out- 
stretched arms  by  the  water  edge  ? 

But  not  a  movement  was  perceptible,  except  in  the 
stream  where  the  current  rocked  the  crowded  bodies  to 
and  fro  with  a  ghastly  rhythmic  regularity. 

Suddenly  she  pressed  her  hands  to  her  ears  with  a  dis- 
tracted gesture,  her  head  bending  low  and  forward  with 


274       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

partially  closed  eyelids.  She  had  come  to  the  border 
line  of  sanity.  A  deadly  paralyzing  fear  had  penetrated 
-at  last  to  the  very  core  of  her  brave  soul.  All  reality 
had  dropped  out  of  life.  She  was  alone  among  the  dead 
of  the  universe,  in  the  power  of  unlimited  fear,  herself 
a  shadowless  ghost  in  the  land  of  nowhere. 

A  touch,  a  warm  living  touch  stung  her  to  life. 

She  screamed,  and  the  next  instant  was  struggling  with 
all  the  strength  lent  by  ungovernable  terror.  For  a 
man 's  arm  was  around  her,  pulling  her  away  with  might. 

' '  Come  away !  You  shall  not  stay  here.  It  is  not  a  fit 
place  for  you  to  be  in.  Come,  my  Veronica!  Come! 
You  are  safe  with  me.  Nothing  shall  harm  you.  Come 
away!" 

It  was  Rosen.  His  voice  was  agitated,  his  face  livid, 
his  eyes  strained.  The  experience  was  even  more  drastic 
that  he  had  anticipated.  He  had  seen  Veronica  flit 
away  from  the  tent  and  followed  her  through  the  under- 
growth, where  he  had  sat  in  ambush  to  spy  upon  her 
unseen.  He  had  planned  that  she  should  see  this  grue- 
some sight,  but  of  a  sudden  as  he  watched  he  had  feared 
for  her  reason  and  promptly  intervened. 

With  rapid  revulsion  from  panic  to  unmitigated  re- 
lief her  resistance  to  him  stopped  dead.  Though  she 
could  hardly  hear  his  voice  for  the  blood  that  sang  in 
her  ears,  she  turned  and  clung  to  him  tightly  like  a 
deadly  frightened  child. 

He  was  alive.  He  was  a  bit  of  the  old  normal  life  from 
which  she  seemed  to  have  been  separated  for  a  million 
years.  A  great  trembling  came  over  her  like  an  ague 
attack. 

"Have  no  fear,  meine  Geliebte,"  he  whispered 
hoarsely,  holding  her  close.  ""We  will  go  far  away  at 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        275 

once.  It  was  an  error  that  made  us  halt  so  near  this 
terrible  spot.  I  did  not  guess. ' ' 

The  He  was  well  told.  Veronica  had  no  suspicion  of 
this  latest  trap  to  fling  her  a  willing  captive  into  his  arms. 
She  moaned  dully  and  frequently,  like  one  in  great 
mental  distress,  as  she  allowed  him  to  support  and  guide 
her  back  to  the  camp. 

The  attendant  was  standing  perplexed  and  anxious 
before  the  tent.  She  saw  them  coming  and  ran  to  meet 
them. 

"The  Svtt  is  tired  and  not  very  well.  Bring  coffee 
without  delay,"  he  ordered. 

He  put  Veronica  in  a  low  canvas  chair  in  the  tent 
entrance.  When  the  coffee  came  he  dosed  it  with  cognac 
and  made  her  drink  it  at  once.  Obediently  she  gulped 
it  down. 

Then  with  the  air  of  an  elder  brother  he  gave  direc- 
tions for  the  prompt  packing  of  the  traveling  bag. 
Veronica  paid  no  attention  beyond  following  the 
woman's  movements  with  stupefied  gaze.  She  had  the 
look  of  one  who  has  been  drugged. 

Rosen  doubted  if  she  had  strength  left  to  sit  her  mare 
for  the  day,  and  longed  for  the  carriage  he  had  dis- 
patched to  Opella.  Still,  now  his  object  was  attained 
beyond  his  wildest  anticipations,  he  meant  to  make  a 
bee-line  for  the  railroad,  and  join  the  train  to  complete 
the  journey  he  had  planned  before  leaving  home. 

He  vowed  inwardly  that  atonement  for  this  latest 
ordeal  should  be  of  a  kind  that  would  later  erase  its 
entire  remembrance  from  Veronica's  life.  He  con- 
doned the  infamy  of  his  diabolic  plot  by  reflecting  that 
only  an  ocular  demonstration  of  the  alternative  fate 
awaiting  her  could  have  broken  her  stubborn  resistance. 


276        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

After  starting  on  their  way  he  kept  closely  by  Ver- 
onica's side  on  the  constant  watch  for  any  relapse,  but 
always  an  expert  rider,  she  rode  mechanically  without 
any  conscious  effort. 

As  soon  as  they  were  well  away  from  the  ominous 
place  of  death  he  called  a  halt.  Cushions  and  a  rug 
were  spread  for  Veronica  under  a  tree  screened  by 
some  wayside  bushes.  She  submitted  to  be  lifted  from 
her  saddle.  A  meal  was  quickly  ready,  and  when  he 
pressed  food  upon  her  she  began  to  eat  with  the  obedient 
action  of  an  automaton.  Some  spring  of  her  mind 
seemed  to  have  run  down.  She  did  nothing  of  her  own 
volition. 

Rosen  could  not  keep  his  eyes  away  from  her.  Closely 
and  incredulously  he  gazed  at  her  like  a  man  who  dreams, 
feeling  that  at  last  after  a  fearful  struggle  she  was  his 
very  own. 

Nothing  could  or  should  part  them  now.  The  future 
rose  up  before  him,  rose-pink  as  a  summer  dawn.  And 
he  was  in  a  fever  to  be  up  and  away.  Suppose  she  were 
to  fall  ill  while  they  were  still  out  of  reach  of  help  and 
remedies  to  nurse  her  back  to  health?  When  he  had 
held  her  hands  chafing  them  in  the  tent  they  had  felt  like 
dead  things,  nerveless  and  limp,  yet  instead  of  being  cold 
they  had  been  dry  and  burning  to  the  touch. 

His  heart  grew  big  with  anxiety  as  he  sat  looking  at 
her  with  intensity.  Such  was  his  obsession  that  it  shut 
out  all  and  every  recollection  of  the  horrors  that  had 
worked  the  cruel  change  in  Veronica. 

Besides  he  was  worried  about  another  vital  matter :  the 
fidelity  of  his  escort.  As  a  rule  such  guards  were  keen 
on  traveling  thus,  for  it  meant  regular  daily  payment 
from  the  personage  they  protected,  whereas  the  payment 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        277 

in  the  Sultan 's  army  was  ever  a  long  deferred  and  doubt- 
ful quantity.  To-day  there  was  disaffection  in  many 
ranks  of  the  army,  and  these  men  looking  ahead  would 
see  nothing  at  the  journey's  end  but  active  service  with 
little  or  no  pay. 

Of  the  personal  attendants  and  muleteers  Rosen  had  no 
doubts,  but  more  than  once  he  had  noticed  the  soldiers 
talking  apart  from  the  rest,  in  the  stealthy  way,  with 
furtive  side  glances,  of  those  who  fear  to  be  overheard. 
He  suspected  they  were  plotting  to  desert,  as  so  many 
of  their  comrades  had  already  done. 

The  railway  was  another  day 's  journey  ahead.  There 
was  still  a  night  to  be  spent  in  camp.  Anyhow  Rosen 
felt  he  could  not  do  better  than  try  to  cover  the  ground 
quickly  as  possible.  Provided  of  course  that  Veronica 
could  stand  being  hurried. 

"Are  you  rested  enough?"  he  asked,  considerately. 
"Do  you  feel  able  to  start  again  now?" 

She  looked  at  him,  after  he  repeated  the  question,  with 
motionless  eyes  and  a  droop  at  the  corners  of  her  mouth. 

"Whenever  you  like  I  am  ready,"  she  said,  in  a  voice 
as  colorless  as  her  face. 

"At  noon  we  will  rest  again,"  he  said,  encourag- 
ingly. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"We  will  see  later,"  he  said,  anxiously. 

Up  to  the  present  Veronica's  manner  had  been  curi- 
ously calm,  but  now  she  got  up  in  a  hurry.  It  was  her 
first  voluntary  action  since  the  great  shock. 

' '  I  prefer  to  go  straight  on  to  the  end  of  the  journey 
without  stopping  anywhere  else,"  she  said  with  the 
same  toneless  drag  in  her  voice. 

He  called  out  to  the  nearest  attendant,  who  ran  off  to 


278        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

carry  out  the  imperative  orders.  Soon  they  were  again 
in  the  saddle  following  the  baggage  mules,  which  had 
caught  them  up  and  gone  on  escorted  by  half  the  guard 
as  usual. 

Until  that  little  rest  had  come  by  the  wayside  every 
emotion,  but  the  instinctive  horror  which  had  numbed 
her,  had  forsaken  Veronica.  Now  by  slow  degrees  her 
brain  began  to  recover  its  thinking  power,  though  only 
spasmodically.  And  her  first  coherent  thoughts  envel- 
oped the  distant  figure  of  her  mother.  A  craving  was 
upon  her  clamoring  to  be  gratified.  That  she  should  ride 
on  faster  and  faster  without  slackening  rein  until  called 
and  gathered,  like  a  chicken  under  the  sheltering  wings, 
she  could  run  and  hide  her  face  in  the  sure  refuge  of 
her  mother's  arms.  Then  all  would  be  well. 

Momentarily  she  was  oblivious  of  that  other  love  whose 
image  up  to  this  moment  had  been  to  the  fore  of  all 
others,  and  for  whose  sake  she  found  herself  in  this  des- 
perate situation.  Her  eyes  dived  unceasingly  into  the 
distance,  dazed  yet  shining,  as  her  mind  held  on  to  the 
one  and  only  besetting  idea  that  seemed  able  to  clear 
the  road  to  reason. 

To  the  man  riding  near  her  she  paid  no  heed  nor  gave 
any  thought  at  all.  Yet  even  at  that  moment  he  was 
secretly  evolving  plans  for  an  immediate  marriage. 
Nursing  the  delusion  of  his  final  conquest  over  Veronica 's 
will  he  was  more  than  ever  confident  that  she  would  fly 
joyfully,  and  without  a  backward  look,  to  the  security 
assured  by  his  love  and  name. 

Excitement  grew  upon  him  as  he  mused  incessantly 
over  his  starved  passion.  His  anxiety  sank  to  zero.  The 
fevered  light  of  Veronica 's  forward  gaze  only  encouraged 
him  the  more  to  belief  in  her  rapid  recovery.  Soon,  very 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       279 

soon,  would  she  be  confessing  in  his  arms  what  a  dreadful 
mistake  she  had  made,  and  how  for  the  first  time  she 
had  come  to  know  the  true  inner  meaning  of  love. 

While  on  the  quicksands  of  delusion  he  built  up  the 
baseless  fabric  of  his  fool's  paradise  the  wheels  of  Fate 
were  turning  fast.  The  Nemesis  that  waits  in  secret 
ready  to  strike  at  the  predestined  moment  was  rushing 
up  swiftly  to  meet  him. 

Just  then  they  were  pushing  on  over  rough  yet  fairly 
level  ground  at  a  smart  pace.  Rosen  began  to  wonder 
how  it  was  the.  pack  mules  had  forged  so  far  ahead. 
They  were  quite  out  of  sight.  It  was  possible  they  had 
just  dipped  behind  the  rocky  ridge  towards  which  their 
guide  was  steadily  advancing. 

Rosen  looked  back  and  was  equally  surprised  to  find 
how  far  ahead  he  was  of  the  rest  of  the  escort.  It  was 
necessary  the  whole  party  should  be  solid  in  these  un- 
frequented byways. 

Angrily  he  called  out  to  the  kawass,  who  rode  behind, 
bidding  him  turn  back  at  once  and  hurry  up  the  lag- 
gards. 

The  plain  though  rough  was  inclined  to  be  swampy 
except  near  the  tamarisk  bushes  which  bordered  the 
track.  And  now  they  started  to  climb  the  slope  by  a 
path  so  narrow  and  stony  that  they  had  to  ride  single 
file. 

Rosen  on  his  chestnut  mare  led  the  way,  preceding  Ver- 
onica by  several  yards. 

"Have  a  care!"  he  called  back.  "There  is  a  sharp 
bend  in  the  way  and  the  path  is  slippery." 

Low  scrub  and  stumpy  pine  trees  were  scattered  over 
the  hillside.  The  two  riders  were  quite  alone  on  the 
rough  ascent  when  of  a  sudden  the  bark  of  a  rifle  broke 


28o        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

into  the  silence.  All  at  once  a  bullet  whizzed  through  the 
trees  and  hit  a  solid  mark  close  at  hand. 

Abruptly  the  guide  turned  his  horse  sideways  and 
stared  back.  The  next  instant  he  was  spurring  up  the 
track  at  breakneck  speed,  solely  concerned  in  the  safety 
of  his  own  skin. 

"Heaven!  What  was  that?"  exclaimed  Veronica, 
awakened  on  the  instant,  as  she  reined  in  her  startled 
mare. 

Kosen  instead  of  replying  reeled  in  his  saddle,  sway- 
ing from  side  to  side.  Suddenly  he  fell  heavily  to  the 
ground. 

His  mare  reared  and  snorted.  As  with  a  prolonged 
frightened  whinny  she  started  briskly  up  the  hill  the 
black  figure  of  a  Bedouin,  with  head  and  chin  closely 
muffled,  sprang  down  the  bank.  He  seized  the  bridle, 
pulling  her  up  sharply,  then  turned  her  round. 

Veronica  staring  in  stupefaction  at  Eosen  paid  no  at- 
tention to  what  was  happening  further  up  the  track  nor 
on  the  plain.  Suddenly  she  swung  herself  out  of  the 
saddle  and  ran  up  to  the  fallen  man. 

He  was  lying  huddled  under  the  bank,  so  that  she  was 
able  in  a  moment  to  prop  him  against  the  rock.  With 
shuddering  of  heart  while  raising  his  head  and  shoulders 
she  saw  a  thread  of  blood  trickling  from  the  hole  made 
by  the  bullet  behind  the  ear.  The  wound  was  mortal. 
He  had  been  shot  at  close  range  by  some  one  concealed 
in  the  trees. 

From  the  plain  below  came  the  rapid  crackling  of  fire- 
arms, to  the  accompaniment  of  fierce  loud  cries.  A  party 
of  Bedouin  ambushed  in  the  tamarisk  thicket  appeared 
to  have  waited  for  the  signal  of  the  shot  on  the  hillside 
and  then  rushed  out  upon  the  guard.  In  a  very  short 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        281 

time  these  were  overcome,  and  their  horses  taken  from 
them.  One  or  two  soldiers  lay  with  outspread  arms  face 
to  earth,  but  the  others  were  running  away  as  fast  as 
their  legs  could  carry  them,  thankful  to  escape  with  their 
lives. 

"My  God!  What  shall  I  do?"  murmured  Veronica 
still  kneeling  by  Rosen  as  she  tried  to  staunch  the  blood, 
using  her  handkerchief  as  a  swab.  With  all  her  might 
she  tried  to  recall  what  was  the  right  thing  to  do  for  a 
wound  of  the  kind,  but  something  had  dried  up  in  her 
brain.  She  could  not  think. 

She  seemed  to  have  knelt  there  for  ages  looking  at  the 
man's  graying  face.  In  reality  scarcely  a  moment  had 
passed  before  a  voice  sounded  close  behind  her. 

"Leave  him  alone!"  it  said  sternly.  "He  has  met 
with  his  just  deserts.  Get  up  my  girl!  There  isn't  a 
moment  to  lose.  Here  is  your  mare." 

She  turned  her  head,  caught  sight  of  the  Bedouin  garb 
and  sprang  to  her  feet.  Her  fingers  moved  nimbly  be- 
neath her  cloak.  The  next  instant  she  was  pointing  her 
revolver  at  the  man  standing  before  her  and  would  have 
shot  him  but  his  hand  quicker  than  hers  darted  forward 
and  clutched  her  by  the  wrist. 

"Are  you  mad?  Would  you  shoot  a  friend,  Veron- 
ica?" he  said,  slipping  down  the  folds  of  his  kerchief 
and  showing  his  face. 

"John  Culver,  you?"  she  stammered,  agitatedly. 
"You  have  shot  the  man  who  was  doing  his  best  to  help 
and  bring  me  to  safety." 

"I  would  do  it  a  second  time  if  I  had  the  chance. 
Has  he  deluded  you  by  a  lie  as  he  did  my  little  Zia? 
He  who  hides  his  evil  that  evil  will  kill  him." 

"  No !    He  was  taking  me  to  her  and  to  mother. ' ' 


All  the  fight  had  again  dropped  out  of  her  voice.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  she  was  speaking  with  the  air  of  one 
who  had  been  badly  cowed. 

"Taking  you  to  your  mother?  Do  you  really  believe 
that?  Tell  me  where  is  the  sun?  Over  there,  west  at 
this  hour.  In  which  direction  were  you  going?  Due 
south.  He  had  no  intention  of  taking  you  to  your 
mother.  You  shall  tell  me  presently  how  you  came  to  be 
in  his  clutches.  Come  now,  into  the  saddle  at  once ! ' ' 

"We  cannot  leave  him  there  alone,"  she  protested, 
dully,  hanging  back. 

' '  Come !  He  will  be  found  soon  enough,  but  as  surely 
as  we  stay  here  he  will  have  cause  to  jeer  at  us  more  in 
death  than  ever  he  did  in  life. ' ' 

"Is  he  really  dead?" 

"Dead  as  a  nail,"  asserted  the  Englishman  grimly, 
"beyond  repentance  and  not  deserving  of  a  tear.  He 
has  met  .a  death  that  is  a  thousand  times  too  humane  for 
him.  For  it  is  such  as  he  who  are  egging  on  and  daring 
the  Turks  to  their  worst  atrocities.  He  should  have 
been  tortured  like  our  innocent  Zia,  or  worse — like 
Zohrab  and  Vartakis." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  Her  voice  spoke  fear  and 
horror  for  she  knew  the  names  well. 

"They  have  been  murdered  by  Enver's  butchers — 
brutally,  foully  murdered,  two  of  the  finest  and  bravest 
men  in  the  Ottoman  empire.  Dikran  Ghilighian,  your 
famous  writer,  has  met  the  same  fate.  There  are  count- 
less others.  I  tell  you,  Veronica,  the  land  throbs  with 
danger  of  all  kinds.  It  is  rife  with  death." 

"I  know — I  have  seen — hundreds,  this  morning,"  she 
gasped,  covering  her  eyes  with,  her  hand. 

"No  wonder  you  can  hardly  grasp  what  I  tell  you," 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        283 

he  said  more  gently,  as  he  drew  her  towards  the  mare. 
"By  hook  or  crook  you  must  all  get  out  of  it  as  many  as 
possible.  I  have  set  myself  the  task  of  saving  all  I  can. 
By  Allah's  help  I  will  myself  snatch  many  a  victim  from 
the  shameful  sacrifice." 

' '  John !  I  will  help  you, ' '  she  said  with  a  little  spasm 
of  her  native  spirit  as  he  lifted  her  to  the  saddle. 

His  heart  contracted  as  he  looked  at  her.  She  was 
deadly  pale,  her  eyes  big  and  tragic,  not  from  the  im- 
mediate panic  but  that  other  merciless  terror  which  had 
gone  before.  But  this  was  not  the  moment  for  sympathy 
or  inquiry.  They  must  be  off  though  there  were  a  hun- 
dred questions  he  wanted  to  put  to  her. 

She  had  not  made  one  inquiry  herself  about  her  own 
family,  nor  about  Zorah  and  the  boy.  It  was  so  unlike 
Veronica.  And  the  name  of  Pierre  Marson  had  not 
passed  her  lips,  though  John  knew  from  her  mother 
what  the  girl  had  suffered  through  Rosen 's  brutal  revela- 
tion. He  was  positive  that  more  had  happened  to  Ver- 
onica since  then  than  he  had  any  idea  of.  It  would  all 
come  out  later. 

And  he  had  news,  great  news,  to  tell  her  about  her 
lover.  That  must  also  wait.  He  was  sure  she  could 
stand  neither  the  excitement  nor  the  suspense  which 
would  certainly  follow  his  disclosures. 

"We  have  a  good  two  hours'  steady  riding  before  us, 
and  we  may  have  to  get  further  away  by  morning.  It  all 
depends, ' '  he  said.  ' '  One  thing  I  am  forgetting,  though. 
This  villain  is  probably  carrying  important  documents 
on  his  person.  We  must  have  them  all. ' ' 

In  a  moment  he  had  emptied  the  contents  of  the  dead 
man's  pockets  into  the  saddle  bag.  Then,  reflecting  that 
the  finding  of  the  body  would  be  delayed  if  removed  from 


284        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

the  track,  he  carried  it  into  the  long  undergrowth  close 
by. 

After  this  he  led  both  horses  to  the  foot  of  the  hill 
and  there  gave  a  curious  bird-like  cry  which  rallied  the 
Bedouin  riders  on  the  plain.  There  followed  a  brief 
excited  passage  of  mutual  congratulation  and  of  friendly 
greeting  to  the  relative  of  Hanna,  by  no  means  a  stranger. 
Then  they  closed  round  him  and  Veronica,  and,  leading 
the  captured  mares,  rode  off  towards  the  descending  sun, 
a  strong  compact  little  party,  taking  advantage  of  broken 
tracks  which  snaked  warily  through  deserted  country, 
and  losing  no  time  by  the  way. 

"How  did  you  find  me,  John?"  she  asked  as  they 
climbed  a  steep  bit  of  the  way  in  a  maze  of  low  hill. 
John  had  dismounted  and  was  leading  his  horse  by  her 
side. 

"Pure  luck,  or  thanks  to  some  blessed  providence,  for 
I  thought  till  two  days  ago  you  were  safely  housed  under 
the  American  flag,"  he  replied,  once  more  speaking  in 
his  old  quiet  way.  "Pastor  Kasbarian  was  in  great 
trouble  when  we  reached  his  house.  News  had  just  come 
through  that  his  daughter-in-law  and  children  who  had 
been  visiting  her  family  in  Killiz  had  been  collected  and 
carried  off  with  a  large  party  of  deported  Armenians  to 
Opella  on  the  road  to  Deir-el-Zor. ' ' 

"Is  it  possible  they  were  on  the  market  square  that 
day?"  she  said  with  a  start. 

"Quite  possible.  I  rested  a  day  at  Halat  and  then 
went  back  to  Opella.  I  had  promised  the  pastor  to  do 
all  in  my  power  to  find  and  bring  his  relatives  back  to 
safety.  I  traced  the  party,  in  which  I  thought  the 
family  was  most  likely  to  be  found,  as  far  as  El 
Marasch. ' ' 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        285 

"Why,  that  was  the  village  which  had  no  room  for  us 
two  nights  ago." 

"Yes,  because  it  was  packed  full  of  these  unhappy 
exiles.  I  was  making  inquiries  among  them  at  one  of 
the  khans  when  I  caught  sight  of  the  German  consul 
standing  outside." 

She  uttered  a  little  low  sound. 

' '  That  was  the  fine  way  in  which  he  was  doing  his  best 
for  you,"  said  John  Culver,  significantly.  "His  escort 
got  talking  in  the  cafe  when  he  was  paying  a  visit  on  the 
Mudir.  I  was  infuriated  at  what  I  gathered.  I  could 
never  have  looked  Nicholas  or  your  mother  in  the  face 
if  I  had  not  moved  heaven  and  earth  to  smash  the  evil 
he  had  taken  in  hand.  Besides,  there  was  Zia!  The 
crime  against  one  of  God's  helpless  little  ones,"  the  sup- 
pressed heat  of  his  voice  scorched  like  a  flame.  "I  was 
only  waiting  the  right  moment  to  vindicate  that  atrocity. 
These  friends  and  kinsmen  of  mine  were  near.  We  are 
always  in  close  touch  and  they  know  every  yard  of  the 
country.  There  was  only  one  way  to  act  so  as  to  get 
you  clear  away,  and  then  cover  our  tracks — violence  a 
outrance!  But  we  had  to  wait  the  right  locality,  the 
psychological  moment.  We  were  very  near  your  camp 
last  night  and  rode  on  ahead  before  daybreak.  You  see 
the  guide  was  a  friend  of  ours." 

"I  have  been  cruelly  deceived  right  through,"  she 
muttered. 

"Deception  is  far  too  mild  a  word  for  such  deliberate 
villainy.  Do  you  know  where  Kosen  was  taking  you? 
Even  those  soldiers  knew.  To  the  railway  half  way 
between  Aleppo  and  Hamah.  Where  was  he  going  then  ? 
Ah,  the  evil  of  that  secret  is  hidden  in  the  breast  of  the 
dead.  The  English  say,  'all  is  fair  in  love  and  war,' 


286        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

but  there  are  base  artifices  no  man  can  use  to  gain  his 
ends  in  either  unless  he  possesses  the  mind  of  a  skunk, 
Boche  is  the  French  term  for  the  German,  but  a  real  live 
swine  is  a  clean  beast  and  a  gentleman  compared  with 
such  a  type  as  Otto  Bosen." 

"John,  I  owe  you  more  than  life.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  you — "  she  wished  to  say  more  but  her  voice  trailed 
off.  Though  the  accumulation  of  the  past  still  weighed 
with  leaden  pressure  on  nerve  and  brain,  the  look  she 
turned  on  him  spoke  plainly  of  all  that  had  begun  to 
surge  afresh  in  her  heart. 

"There  is  no  need  to  worry  now,  Veronica,"  he  said, 
soothingly.  "All  you  want  is  the  opportunity  to  rest. 
After  a  good  night  you  will  feel  more  like  your  real  self." 

"Inshallah!"  she  murmured. 

They  came  to  more  level  ground.  John  mounted  his 
horse  and  they  rode  on  in  silence  till  suddenly  the  fore- 
most rider  turned  aside  into  a  thicket  of  sweet  smelling 
shrubs  and  scattered  trees.  The  copse  looked  impene- 
trable to  any  but  the  initiated,  so  tortuous  and  invisible 
the  track,  till  it  fell  steeply  away  into  a  deep  wadi  hidden 
within  the  folds  of  the  hills. 

Close  under  the  overhanging  rocks  couched  the  low 
black  tents  of  the  Bedouins.  For  carpet  a  strip  of  ver- 
dure edged  the  tiny  stream  which  was  overhung  by  wil- 
lows and  clustering  oleander  bushes.  Down  the  gully 
were  tethered  a  large  number  of  camels  and  mares,  graz- 
ing on  a  scanty  herbage  of  flowers  and  grass. 

Two  or  three  dogs  barked.  Then  women  and  children 
ran  to  greet  the  home  comers  who  at  once  became  the 
center  of  a  babbling  crowd. 

John  lifted  Veronica  from  her  mare  and  led  her 
towards  the  large  central  tent  where  in  the  entrance  sat 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        287 

a  grizzle-bearded  man  of  proud  and  dignified  bearing. 
He  caught  sight  of  them  and  keen  observation  flashed 
from  his  eyes. 

"Here  is  certainly  something  too  hard  for  the  teeth 
to  bite, ' '  he  muttered  under  his  breath. 

"Peace  be  unto  you,  Sheikh  Mabruk,"  called  John. 
"Behold,  Allah  has  given  us  safe  return  with  a  guest 
for  our  tents." 

"And  to  you  be  peace  and  kinship,  0  my  son,"  said 
Sheikh  Mabruk,  rising  at  once  to  give  the  salaam  cere- 
moniously, ' '  and  welcome  to  the  stranger  you  bring  with 
you!" 

As  they  entered  the  tent  a  blue-draped  figure  with  a 
little  child  hanging  on  to  her  robe,  glided  from  the  inner 
tent.  Two  great  velvety  eyes  stared  bewildered  from 
John  to  Veronica  and  back  again. 

"Stranger,  you  say,  my  father?  No,  for  by  my  soul  it 
is  our  sister  Veronica  and  none  other.  Friend  of  my 
eyes!  My  happiness  so  welcome,"  she  exclaimed  joy- 
fully, extending  her  arms. 

Veronica  lifted  her  head  with  the  gesture  of  one  who 
sitting  in  darkness  suddenly  sees  light  through  an  opened 
shutter.  She  felt  as  if  she  had  on  the  moment  awakened 
from  a  long  delirious  dream. 

"Oh,  Zorah  darling,  is  it  really  you?  Now  I  can 
breathe  again,"  she  said,  agitatedly. 

"Hanna!  Hold  her!  She  is  falling,"  called  Zorah, 
quickly,  as  Veronica  with  a  little  fluttering  sigh  dropped 
between  their  hands  into  a  dead  faint. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

LISTEN!"  said  Anna  Severin  as  the  shrill  notes  of  a 
crier's  voice  rose  from  the  street  to  the  cool  vaulted 
terrace  where  she  sat  with  Pastor  Kasbarian. 

They  had  been  talking  despondently  with  sinking 
hearts.  No  news  had  come  yet  of  Veronica  or  the  miss- 
ing daughter-in-law  and  her  family.  The  experiences 
brought  by  escaped  refugees  from  districts  already 
cleared  of  luckless  Armenians  were  terrifying.  On  top 
of  acute  apprehension  for  the  absent,  Anna  Severin  had 
been  expending  her  whole  energies  on  nursing  Zia 
through  a  bad  malarial  attack,  which  had  left  the  child 
in  a  very  weak  state. 

This  responsibility  for  the  youngest  treasure  of  the 
family  had  naturally,  for  the  time  being,  shut  out  all 
other  cares.  It  was  only  now  when  the  child  was  con- 
valescent, and  could  be  left  occasionally  entirely  to 
Amina  's  care,  that  the  incubus  of  fear  for  both  Veronica 
and  Nicholas  pressed  upon  the  mother-heart  with  ever 
increasing  weight. 

Pastor  Kasbarian  got  up  and  leaned  over  the  breast- 
work of  the  terrace  the  better  to  hear.  He  looked 
grimmer  and  had  aged  since  his  visit  to  Opella. 

The  crier  was  proclaiming  the  government  order — 
Talaat  Bey's  "regrettable  but  very  humane  measure  and 
military  necessity" — to  the  townlet  of  Halat  that  all  the 
Armenian  residents  without  exception  were  to  start  under 
armed  escort  in  six  days'  time  for  some  nameless  un- 
known destination. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        289 

"It  has  actually  come.  Now  what  are  we  all  going  to 
do,  I  should  like  to  know,"  exclaimed  Mme.  Severin.  "I 
warned  you  to  fashion  some  plan  in  advance.  There  is 
no  time  to  lose  now.  We  must  act  at  once." 

"Above  all,  with  complete  secrecy,"  assented  Pastor 
Kasbarian.  He  went  out  immediately  to  consult  pri- 
vately with  his  flock.  That  same  night  the  chief  mem- 
bers of  the  Halat  community  met  under  his  roof  to  re- 
view their  position  and  make  some  definite  decision. 

Eesistance  or  non-resistance  was  the  crucial  point  to 
consider  after  ventilating  their  general  dismay  and  anger. 
Resistance  seemed  at  first  blush  a  foolhardy  proceeding, 
but  the  alternative  of  setting  out  submissively  on  an  aim- 
less journey,  toiling  on  foot  for  three  to  eight  weeks, 
according  to  the  goal,  in  some  malarial  or  barren 
desert  of  Anatolia  or  Mesopotamia  was  still  blacker 
prospect. 

The  gorge  of  the  majority  revolted  against  their  ter- 
rible fate,  though  a  few  bending  their  heads  with  fatal- 
istic obedience  seemed  ready  to  follow  the  line  of  least 
resistance. 

"What  is  the  use  of  opposition?  We  shall  but  court 
disaster  of  a  worse  nature,"  said  one  of  these. 

"Yet  to  submit  blindly  means  certain  disaster,  and  a 
probable  death  of  torture,"  retorted  a  refugee,  warmly, 
"The  hardships  of  the  way  are  such  that  the  strongest 
collapse  at  the  end  of  one  day's  journey,  by  night  the 
Arabs  and  the  Kurds  steal  the  asses  and  mules.  They 
as  well  as  the  guards  and  muleteers  plunder  all  the 
travelers  and  violate  the  women,  young  and  old.  All 
can  scarcely  set  one  foot  before  the  other  by  reason  of  the 
blisters  on  their  swollen  and  bleeding  feet.  They  are 
devoured  by  thirst  and  not  allowed  to  drink.  Many  die 


290       LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

by  the  wayside  both  of  hunger  and  thirst,  and  those  who 
survive  exhaustion  are  murdered  by  the  Kurds." 

He  spoke  with  savage  intensity  as  though  the  brutal 
truth  of  fearful  facts  had  branded  his  soul  as  by  fire. 
A  dumb  silence  followed  his  speech,  a  silence  that  ex- 
pressed deeper  things  than  words. 

"We  have  heard  from  other  sources  that  the  tortures  of 
these  forced  journeys  are  far  worse  than  massacre,"  said 
Pastor  Kasbarian.  "A  massacre  is  quickly  done  with  as 
I  know  very  well.  This  newly  evolved  kind  of  misery 
augments  daily  and  yet  has  only  one  end  to  it,  a  lingering 
death." 

A  shuddering  breath  shook  the  whole  circle.  There 
were  those  present  who  feared  like  their  pastor  for  the 
safety  of  loved  ones  already  breasting  the  waves  of  that 
accumulating  misery. 

" There  is  no  one  to  protect  us  but  God,"  declared  a 
desperate  voice. 

"God  is  not  here  at  all,  my  friend,"  came  tragically 
from  another.  "We  can  say  like  the  prophet  of  old,  He 
is  asleep,  or  He  is  gone  on  a  journey,  visiting  one  of  his 
distant  worlds,  forgetting  the  sorrows  of  earth." 

' '  Those  who  help  themselves  God  will  surely  help  how- 
ever distant  He  may  be, ' '  Anna  Severin  said  suddenly  in 
a  firm  deep  voice.  "It  is  always  so.  What  are  the 
Armenian  people  doing  to  resist  these  abominations? 
Practically  nothing.  Let  us  resist  with  every  power  at 
our  disposal.  In  the  end  we  are  bound  to  prevail.  Else 
— "  she  raised  her  hands  expressively. 

"Let  us  resist!"  was  the  instant  response.  One  or 
two  voices  were  strong,  some  hesitating,  but  the  majority 
agreed. 

"How  can  we?" 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        291 

"It  is  impossible.    We  have  no  arms." 

"Not  a  needle  is  left  to  us  to-day,  and  yet  we  ought 
to  draw  the  sword,  they  say, ' '  quoted  a  gloomy  voice. 

"We  have  more  resources  than  you  think,"  came  in 
quick  disclaimer  from  the  hopeful  members. 

The  toss  to  and  fro  of  excited  repartee  continued  a 
few  minutes.  Pastor  Kasbarian,  silent  and  reflective, 
gazed  steadily  through  the  window.  He  started  when  of 
a  sudden  a  voice  appealed  directly  to  him. 

"I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills  from  whence 
cometh  my  help, ' '  he  replied,  unexpectedly,  indicating  by 
a  gesture  the  view  through  the  window  of  the  mountain 
ridge,  and  its  bold  promontory  striding  out  into  a  mar- 
velously  blue  sea. 

"The  hills!"  An  illuminating  thought  for  some,  to 
others  a  counsel  of  despair. 

"I  have  that  in  my  mind  to  say  that  I  have  dwelt 
upon  for  days  past, ' '  said  the  pastor  drawing  a  book  from 
his  pocket.  "Listen,  and  I  will  tell  you  how  the  people 
of  Israel  acted  when  subjected  to  massacre  under  the 
invasion  of  Holofernes.  They  were  newly  returned 
from  captivity  and  had  a  strong  desire  to  retain  their 
freedom. ' ' 

He  read  aloud  impressively  a  few  verses  from  the 
book  of  Judith  showing  how  the  people  of  many  villages 
and  towns  "possessed  themselves  of  the  tops  of  the  high 
mountains,  and  fortified  those  villages  that  were  in  them 
and  laid  up  victuals  for  the  provision  of  war:  for  their 
fields  were  of  late  reaped."  And  how  by  choosing  their 
positions  well  they  were  able  to  keep  the  passages  of  the 
hill  country  and  repulse  all  who  tried  to  come  up. 

With  concentrated  attention  they  all  listened.  Confi- 
dence, elation,  resolution  sparkled  suddenly  in  every  eye 


292        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

as  the  drift  of  the  pastor's  meaning  was  grasped  first 
by  one  and  then  the  other  of  his  rapt  audience. 

"The  hills  have  already  been  my  hiding  place,"  said 
a  man  who  remembered  the  massacres  of  '95  when  all 
his  family  had  been  killed  and  he  alone,  a  mere  lad,  had 
escaped  barefoot  to  the  mountain.  "Welcome  to  our 
pastor's  timely  counsel!  Let  us  at  once  deliberate  in 
what  way  we  can  best  carry  it  into  execution.  Our 
brothers  of  Zeitoun  and  Sassoun  have  before  to-day  re- 
tired to  the  hills  and  defended  themselves  successfully. 
For  all  we  know  they  may  be  doing  the  same  this  very 
hour." 

"It  is  madness.  An  impossible  undertaking,"  de- 
clared a  small  minority  who  submitted  later,  meekly, 
to  deportation,  and  were  never  heard  of  again. 

"Submission  is  even  a  greater  madness,"  replied 
Anna  Severin,  her  eyes  flashing.  "Whatever  the  danger 
we  shall  all  share  it.  Eemember  when  the  bed  breaks 
we  must  be  satisfied  to  lie  on  the  floor." 

Prompt  organization  of  all  resources  was  started  skill- 
fully by  the  able  Armenian  brains.  Envoys  were  sent 
to  other  places  of  the  vicinity.  From  the  lovely  little 
town  of  Yoghonolok  came  the  encouraging  news  to  Pas- 
tor Kasbarian  that  the  Armenian  inhabitants  were  al- 
ready speeding  up  plans  for  a  similar  retirement  to  the 
hills  behind,  under  the  leadership  of  a  pastor  lately  re- 
turned to  that  his  native  place  as  a  refugee  from  Zeitoun. 

With  secrecy  and  dispatch  the  Halat  families  pushed 
on  their  own  preparations,  having  decided  to  join  forces 
with  the  other  villages  for  a  general  exodus.  Every  re- 
source of  food  and  arms  possible  to  transport  was  mus- 
tered by  the  organizing  heads;  grain  and  cattle,  goats 
and  fowls,  family  stores  of  flour,  coffee,  nuts,  figs,  dates, 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        293 

oil,  and  vegetable  produce.  Tents,  bedding,  cooking 
utensils,  all  had  to  be  taken  into  account. 

Of  weapons  they  had  but  120  up-to-date  guns,  about 
400  of  an  antiquated  design,  a  few  old  pistols,  and,  for 
all  these  scanty  enough  ammunition.  But  every  man 
and  boy  had  their  big  girdle  knives,  and  there  were  not 
a  few  lances,  and  serviceable  clubs. 

Spasms  of  bitter  weeping  did  not  fail  among  the 
women,  heartbroken  for  the  tragic  loss  of  their  homes. 
Children  ran  in  and  out  as  usual,  alternately  helping  and 
hindering,  bursting  with  the  excitement  of  coming 
change,  the  whole  business  being  to  them  a  glorified  pic- 
nic to  which  camping-out  was  to  lend  its  perennial 
glamour. 

Always  brought  up  to  dread  the  enemy  at  their  gate, 
these  preparations  were  but  the  evil  dream  come  true 
to  the  adults  as  a  mass.  The  grim  faces  and  set  faces 
of  the  men  formed  a  plain  index  to  their  stiffened  re- 
solve to  hold  out  to  the  "edge  of  doom."  Never  again 
would  these  at  any  rate  submit  afresh  to  a  bootless  and 
merciless  tyranny. 

"My  Veronica!  Would  to  God  I  could  be  certain  that 
all  was  well  with  her,"  exclaimed  Mme.  Severin  on  the 
second  day  of  strenuous  work.  "What  if  she  were  to 
reach  Halat  after  we  had  all  left.  Such  a  possibility 
terrifies  me." 

"Banish  that  fear  utterly.  She  is  in  no  danger,  none 
whatever,"  replied  the  pastor.  "No  one  will  know  bet- 
ter than  your  American  friends  the  state  of  the  roads 
for  traveling.  They  will  not  allow  her  to  stir  from 
Opella.  Besides  our  secret  courier  starts  to-night  to 
beg  the  consul's  intervention  on  our  behalf.  A  special 
message  can  go  at  the  same  time  about  Veronica." 


294        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

His  confidence  brought  a  measure  of  relief  to  Anna 
Severin,  but  she  could  not  rid  her  mind  of  presentiment. 
Tales  of  fearful  happenings  were  constantly  rolling  in  to 
add  to  her  anxiety.  As  well  she  yearned  for  the  moral 
support  of  her  girl's  companionship,  more  even  than  for 
her  skillful  handling  of  complicated  arrangements. 

The  special  task  acting  as  safety  valve  for  her  emo- 
tions, that  she  had  taken  up  conjointly  with  the  pastor's 
wife,  was  the  accumulation  from  all  quarters  of  soft  and 
old  linen  to  form  bandages  for  the  wounded  and  sick 
during  the  days  lying  inevitably  ahead. 

Very  early  next  morning  when  she  was  sorting  some 
of  the  various  stores  sent  in,  pondering  sadly  the  while 
on  Veronica,  Amina  burst  into  the  room. 

"Allah!  The  young  Sitt  is  come.  She  is  even  now 
at  the  door.  Behold,  it  is  she  herself  who  stands  before 
your  eyes!" 

The  startled  face,  suddenly  grown  white  as  milk,  and 
the  quick  movement  of  her  hand  to  her  heart,  betrayed 
the  unwisdom  of  fresh  shocks  for  Mme.  Severin 's  strained 
nerves. 

For  one  breathless  instant  the  slim  Bedouin-clad  figure 
of  Veronica  paused  in  the  doorway  to  fling  off  the  dis- 
guising abbai  and  head  shawl. 

"Don't  be  frightened,  mamouschkal  It  is  really  and 
truly  your  own  Veronica,"  she  called  out,  and  then, 
springing  forward  she  caught  her  mother  in  her  arms 
and  kissed  her  till  the  pale  cheeks  tingled  with  warm 
color. 

The  wonder,  the  joy,  the  relief,  worked  like  a  strong 
tonic  upon  Mme.  Severin.  Burdens  which  had  seemed 
intolerable,  responsibilities  beyond  her  capacities,  all  fell 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       295 

miraculously  away.  Nothing  could  fail  or  go  wrong  now 
Veronica  was  again  at  her  side. 

"How  did  you  come?  Who  has  brought  you?  What 
dangers  you  must  have  braved!  God  is  very  good," 
she  gasped  at  last. 

"John  Culver  brought  me  safely  through  everything. 
He  is  with  Zia,  who  is  beside  herself  with  happiness. 
Yes,  dearest  mother,  dangers  have  been  thick  and  tragic 
since  we  parted,  and  the  way  most  difficult,  but  all  is 
surmounted,  thanks  to  John.  I  cannot  begin  to  tell  you 
what  he  has  done  for  me." 

"Dear,  good  soul!" 

"Yes,  he  is  a  dear  soul  and  a  noble  man.  You  will 
hear  everything  soon.  All  I  can  think  of  this  moment  is 
how  good  it  is  to  be  with  you  again." 

"At  a  grave  moment,  cherie.  We  are  all  on  the  eve 
of  leaving  Halat  for  the  summit  of  Jebel  Moussa. ' ' 

"Is  it  possible ?  But  I  can  guess  why.  It  is  to  avoid 
deportation — and  worse ! ' ' 

"Yes,  the  whole  village  is  to  be  voluntarily  evacuated, 
and  several  others.  All  have  agreed  to  combine  in  order 
to  make  a  strong  resistance  to  the  Turks. ' ' 

"How  I  rejoice!"  cried  Veronica. 

"Look,  you  can  help  me,"  said  Mme.  Severin  pointing 
to  the  rolls  of  linen.  "There  will  be  wounded  to  tend, 
and  no  doubt  sick  women  and  children.  Thank  God  we 
know  what  to  do  and  shall  be  able  to  work  together." 

"Yes,  though  I  shall  not  be  satisfied  unless  in  between 
the  nursing  I  can  shoot  some  of  the  murderers  myself, 
and  make  them  pay,"  said  the  girl,  with  a  look  in  her 
eyes  that  was  new  to  the  mother.  "When  are  we  to 
start?" 


296        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Towards  sunset,  to-morrow.  There  is  still  much  to 
get  ready,  but  you  must  first  rest  after  your  journey." 

"No,  I  am  not  tired.  I  am  quite  prepared  now  to 
take  on  the  lion's  share  of  all  you  have  arranged  to  do," 
she  asserted  stoutly,  once  more  courageously  confident  to 
face  the  worst  that  might  befall. 

All  at  once  she  clasped  her  arms  again  round  her 
mother's  neck  and  looked  deep  into  her  eyes. 

"You  must  be  glad  with  me,"  she  whispered  trem- 
ulously. "Pierre  has  been  found,  and  again  it  was  en- 
tirely owing  to  John.  By  now  he  is  certainly  free.  John 
would  not  let  me  wait  on  the  chance  of  seeing  him. 
There  were  terrible  reasons  that  made  it  impossible  and 
perilous  for  us  to  linger  where  we  were.  But  Pierre  will 
come  to  us,  perhaps  very  soon.  John  will  arrange  that. 
Do  you  quite  understand,  darling  mother?  Pierre  is 
found!  He  is  alive!  We  shall  meet  again." 

For  a  moment  her  voice  though  low  had  the  thrill  and 
music  of  a  happy  singing  bird.  Mme.  Severin  swallowed 
a  sob.  She  longed  to  weep — to  weep  for  pity  for  the 
girl's  dream  of  love  hovering  like  a  mirage  in  a  wilder- 
ness of  woe ;  to  weep  for  wrath  at  the  monstrous  deprav- 
ity which  was  odiously  destroying  a  myriad  hearths  and 
homes  as  well  as  the  dreams  of  every  lover  in  the  land. 

"Dousckka  moya,"  said  Mme.  Severin,  tenderly,  laps- 
ing as  always  in  moments  of  deep  emotion  into  the 
tongue  of  her  childhood,  "remember  we  are  all  in  God's 
hands.  We  can  be  sure  of  nothing  but  what  has  already 
come  to  pass." 

"You  must  not  say  that,"  said  Veronica  with  a  sud- 
den catch  in  her  voice.  ' '  I  would  rather  think  now  that 
he  was  dead  than  be  led  to  expect  to  see  him  and  then 
find  later  I  had  lost  him  forever." 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        297 

"Only  God  knows  the  future  and  He  has  not  forbid- 
den us  to  hope.  Hope  with  a  stout  heart  for  the  ful- 
fillment of  your  hope,  and  who  knows  that  it  may  not 
help  to  bring  it  to  pass?  And  now  come,  we  must  seek 
out  John.  My  gratitude  to  him  is  again  mountain  high, 
and  no  doubt  he  has  a  great  deal  to  talk  over  and  ar- 
range afresh.  Tell  me  has  he  found  any  trace  of  the 
young  Kasbarian  family?" 

"Not  any  at  all.  We  fear  the  worst  has  happened, 
for  I  have  seen  things  with  my  own  eyes  to  make  angels 
weep,  and  the  dead  writhe  and  groan  in  their  graves." 

Mme.  Severin  was  profoundly  moved.  During  the 
whole  of  the  girl's  life  her  mother  had  not  hidden  the 
tragedies  of  past  years  from  her,  but  with  the  knowledge 
she  had  always  inculcated  the  hope  and  faith  that  they 
would  never  recur.  And  now  a  worse  fate  had  fallen 
upon  her  father's  race  than  had  ever  yet  overtaken  it. 
The  sons  and  daughters  of  all  those  who  had  suffered  in 
the  past  had  to  expiate,  not  the  sins  of  their  fathers  but 
the  heritage  of  their  loyalty,  their  liberalism,  their  higher 
intellect  and  superior  business  ability.  All  the  qualities 
in  fact  which  made  them  the  cornerstone  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire,  but  also  a  formidable  rival  to  German  penetra- 
tion, commercially  and  politically,  in  Turkey  in  Asia. 

John  Culver's  disclosures  of  the  convoys  of  Armenians 
he  had  seen  personally  and  their  horrible  sufferings,  of 
the  ignoble  part  played  by  German  silence  and,  callous 
aloofness,  of  Rosen's  despicable  conduct  and  merited 
fate,  acted  like  a  spur  to  the  energies  of  the  Kasbarian 
household,  and  to  others  who  shared  their  confidence. 

"He  will  not  be  able  to  attempt  the  cross-country 
journey  at  once,"  he  said,  speaking  privately  to  Mme. 
Severin  when  she  questioned  him  about  Pierre  Marson. 


298        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"All  was  to  undertake  the  rescue.  It  was  really  simple 
enough  and  is  possibly  safely  accomplished  by  now.  The 
two  guards  were  to  be  surprised  and  overpowered  by 
night.  After  freeing  Marson,  Ali  and  his  companions 
were  to  rebuild  the  wall  so  as  to  delay  discovery  of  the 
escape.  I  feel  sure  the  Mudir  will  hush  up  the  whole 
affair  for  fear  of  his  own  skin.  He  will  pretend  for  a 
time  the  prisoner  is  still  there,  and  then  eventually  re- 
port he  is  dead." 

"How  well  you  read  the  native  mind!" 

"It  is  easy  when  one  has  lived  practically  all  one's  life 
up  against  it.  As  I  told  you,  Zorah  was  very  wishful  to 
keep  Veronica  with  her,  but  it  was  wiser  to  come  to  you. 
You  needed  a  daughter's  help,  and  she  was  in  desperate 
need  of  mother-care  and  sympathy." 

Anna  Severin's  eyes  suffused  with  warm  tears,  having 
heard  already  what  Veronica  had  come  through.  She 
pressed  John's  hand  expressively. 

"Besides  the  Beni-Weldeh  intend  soon  to  trek  into 
the  desert,  as  far  as  possible  from  the  smell  of  war,"  he 
added. 

"Are  you  going  with  them?" 

"I  shall  only  follow  when  I  have  done  all  that  is  pos- 
sible in  this  crisis.  Above  all  I  must  be  certain  of  your 
safety.  I  feel  responsible  for  it  to  Nicholas.  I  cannot 
see  real  light  ahead  on  the  upshot  of  the  struggle  that 
is  sure  to  come  on  Jebel  Moussa.  It  all  depends  upon 
what  action  the  Turks  will  take." 

"We  shall  prevail,"  said  Anna  Severin,  confidently. 
"I  have  no  fear  of  the  result.  In  any  case  prospects  are 
better  than  if  we  stayed  here.  About  Zia  I  want  your 
candid  opinion.  How  do  you  think  she  is  looking?" 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       299 

"Sadly,"  he  said  gravely.  Mme.  Severin  started,  her 
brows  puckered  sorrowfully.  "I  am  amazed  she  ever 
survived  that  brutal  treatment.  I  wish  I  could  ade- 
quately reward  that  faithful  Amina." 

"She  asks  for  nothing  but  the  love  of  the  child,  and 
that  she  has  more  than  ever  before.  How  thankful  I 
am  you  are  here  to  aid  and  guide  our  removal.  It  is 
like  having  my  own  dear  son,"  and  she  leaned  over  and 
embraced  him. 

The  day  passed  excitedly  and  anxiously  as  also  the 
next,  and  both  all  too  soon.  Every  one  was  feverishly 
intent  on  taking  away  all  that  was  possible  to  transport, 
or  carry  on  their  persons.  For  not  a  soul  entertained 
the  smallest  hope  of  ever  seeing  their  homes  again. 

The  actual  hour  of  departure  rushed  on.  Long  pro- 
cessions of  families  on  foot,  in  carts,  on  donkeys  and 
mules,  all  heavily  laden,  began  to  trail  across  the  plain, 
and  up  from  the  roots  of  the  hill  by  paths  all  converging 
steadily  upon  the  same  goal,  the  summit  of  Jebel  Moussa. 

The  gravity  of  the  hour  calling  upon  every  scrap  of 
feminine  energy  and  ingenuity  in  marshaling  their  fam- 
ilies and  goods  soon  dried  the  women's  tears,  though  the 
lump  in  their  throats  grew  bigger.  And  then  Nature 
showed  a  curious  willingness  to  take  up  and  carry  on 
the  lament.  Clouds  from  the  sea  dimmed  the  sunset 
and  came  swiftly  to  the  land.  They  enveloped  the  moun- 
tain and  dissolved  with  night  into  dripping  rain. 

No  less  than  4,200  fugitives,  shepherded  in  their  sep- 
arate villages,  camped  out  in  the  rain  on  the  hill  top. 
The  majority  of  them  were  soaked  to  the  skin  before  tents 
could  be  pitched  or  sheltering  booths  of  any  kind 
erected.  The  first  and  chief  attention  had  to  be  given 


300        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

to  the  guns.  Powder  and  other  ammunition  had  to  be 
kept  dry.  All  else  was  of  secondary  importance. 

But  the  sun  rose  bright  and  cloudless  after  the  rain. 
The  tragic  hours  of  the  night  were  forgotten  under  its 
drying  penetrating  heat.  For  her  own,  and  the  Kas- 
barian  family,  Amina  conjured  up  hot  coffee,  and  for 
Zia  a  big  bowl  of  new  goat's  milk. 

Veronica  slept  late,  tired  out  after  the  strain  of  the 
night,  and  helping  John  to  put  up  a  shelter  for  the 
family.  John,  himself,  after  snatching  a  couple  of 
hours'  sleep  towards  morning,  had  since  disappeared  to 
share  in  the  deliberations  of  the  men  about  the  military 
defense  of  the  mountain. 

"A  committee  of  defense  has  been  elected  by  vote," 
he  explained  later.  "Trenches  are  already  being  con- 
structed at  the  strategical  points  of  ascent.  The  de- 
fense is  being  thoroughly  well  organized,  and  before  the 
Turks  attack  all  will  be  ready  for  their  reception.  It 
will  be  a  warm  one." 

Their  whole  site  had  been  wonderfully  selected  on  the 
flattened  shoulder  of  the  mountain,  thrusting  seawards 
to  plunge  precipitously  into  the  waves.  On  the  land 
side  there  were  steep  descents  thick  with  rocks,  chap- 
arral and  trees,  lending  themselves  readily  to  skilled 
defense  of  the  position.  On  the  summit  there  were  open 
spaces  between  trees  and  the  shelter  of  bushes.  Above 
all  there  was  water,  accessible  and  pure.  Between  the 
camps  and  the  other  part  of  the  ridge  yawned  a  deep 
ravine,  its  steep  slopes  overhung  with  brushwood  and 
trees. 

John  stayed  with  them  all  day  working  indefatigably 
to  evoke  order  out  of  chaos  for  other  families  as  well  as 
the  Severins.  Sorely  divided  in  the  pursuit  of  the  mani- 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        301 

fold  duties  he  had  imposed  upon  himself  it  was  hard  to 
decide  whether  to  remain  as  a  fighting  unit  on  the  hill 
top,  or  to  continue  his  rescues  and  then  return  to  his  wife 
and  child  who  could  not  be  left  indefinitely. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

PIERRE  MARSON  had  reached  the  pitch  of  believing 
that  liberty  would  never  be  more  than  a  word  to 
him.  For  the  encouraging  hope  whispered  mysteriously 
into  his  prison  after  the  unutterable  passage  with  the 
German  consul  had  borne  no  fruition. 

He  suffered  more  than  if  he  had  been  forbidden  to 
hope.  In  that  case  sheer  defiance  would  have  stiffened 
his  will  still  stubbornly  to  hold  out.  The  cigarettes  and 
matches  contained  in  the  package  flung  through  the  air 
hole  had  been  a  timely  solace,  supporting  him  right 
buoyantly  through  the  first  days  of  anticipation. 

But  as  one  day  followed  another  and  nothing  changed, 
and  then  a  whole  week  of  days  went  by  with  no  sign  at  all 
of  the  hinted  rescue,  dread  clutched  hold  of  him  that  the 
voice  of  hope  had  been  a  delusion,  and  the  tobacco  a 
sop  administered  secretly  by  some  humane  companion 
of  the  German  consul. 

As  soon  as  these  ideas  began  to  work  in  his  mind  he 
seemed  to  himself  like  a  man  who  had  staked  his  all  and 
lost  it.  Like  one  who  has  been  robbed  of  his  last  hope 
his  soul  became  gradually  numbed,  though  at  first  he 
fought  hard  to  elude  the  appalling  onslaught  of  fore- 
bodings. Then  as  the  hours  and  days  still  crawled  by, 
and  nothing  was  altered,  a  stillness  as  of  death  dropped 
upon  him,  mentally  and  physically. 

He  came  to  a  state  of  feeling  nothing  at  all,  neither 

302 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        303 

hunger  nor  sorrow,  fear  nor  hope.  He  ate  and  drank 
mechanically  and  slept  at  intervals  like  a  drugged  man. 
Just  as  he  had  brought  nothing  into  the  world  so  now 
he  seemed  to  be  waiting  to  pass  out  of  life  stripped  bare 
of  all  he  had  ever  possessed  and  treasured.  The  need  to 
live  had  withdrawn  to  some  deep  recess  of  being. 

It  is  a  desperate  situation  when  the  heart  of  a  brave 
man  fails  him.  That  Pierre  had  held  out  even  so  long 
without  reaching  this  climax  spoke  volumes  for  his 
capacity  for  endurance.  Undoubtedly  his  love  for  Ver- 
onica had  been  the  chief  saving  factor  so  far,  combined 
with  the  secret  vital  belief  that  some  unexpected  volte- 
face  of  fortune  might  yet  enable  him  to  carry  on  and 
complete  the  errand  for  which  he  had  been  dispatched 
from  France. 

But  now  if  he  gave  a  thought  to  his  mission  at  all  it 
was  only  to  tell  himself  with  shuddering  humiliation  that 
success  from  the  first  had  been  hopeless.  From  the 
outset  doomed  to  failure  he  had  risked  his  life  and  his 
love  to  no  purpose  but  to  rot  to  his  death  in  a  filthy  tomb, 
forgotten  of  God  and  his  own  kind.  That  he  did  not 
attempt  to  take  his  own  life  was  due  simply  to  the  iner- 
tia which  now  bound  his  whole  being. 

Yet  at  rare  intervals  a  glimmering  ray  would  suddenly 
pierce  the  blackness  of  his  mood. 

"My  Veronica!"  he  would  murmur,  and  be  at  once 
conscious  of  a  slight  uplift  of  the  deathly  gloom.  It  was 
almost  as  if  for  a  fleeting  second  an  invisible  bridge  had 
swung  in  midair  across  the  gulf  which  separated  the  lov- 
ers. And  who  shall  deny  that  the  prayers  and  yearning 
heart  of  the  distant  girl  had  created  the  tremulous  light- 
ray  which  had  shot  through  space  and  touched  into  mo- 
mentary life  the  tortured  soul  of  the  man  she  loved. 


304        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Ah,  n'en  doutons  pas!  a  travers  les  temps  et  les 
espaces,  les  ames  ont  quelquefois  des  correspondences 
mysteriouses.  En  vain  le  monde  reel  eleve  ses  barrieres 
entre  deux  etres  qui  s  'aiment ;  habitans  de  la  vie  ideale, 
ils  s'  apparaissent  dans  1'absence,  ils  s'  unissent  dans  la 
mort." 

Before  dawn  comes  the  blackest  hour  of  the  night. 
The  plans  of  rescue  had  to  be  spun  with  the  utmost  cau- 
tion. To  attempt  it  directly  after  the  catastrophe  over- 
taking the  German  consul  would  be  to  hazard  its  success. 
But  as  time  went  on  and  no  connecting  link  was  sug- 
gested between  the  attack  upon  his  party  and  his  visit 
to  the  prisoner  of  the  tomb,  the  plans  ripened  for  his 
deliverance. 

It  was  on  the  tenth  night  after  John  Culver's  risky 
visit  to  the  tomb  that  a  small  Bedouin  party  with  Ali  as 
their  leader  fell  silently  upon  the  two  watchmen.  The 
men,  first  clubbed  to  unconsciousness,  were  then  gagged 
and  blindfolded  with  their  own  head  shawls,  and  their 
feet  and  hands  bound. 

Quickly  the  stone  barrier  was  demolished.  At  the  first 
sound  from  without  Pierre  Marson  started  up  as  if 
waked  from  a  frightful  dream. 

"Mort  de  Dieu!"  he  whispered  in  a  hoarse  voice.  "Is 
it  possible  ?  Has  it  come  at  last  ?  And  which  will  it  be 
—life  or  death!" 

"Hoosh!  In  the  name  of  Allah  are  you  there,  0 
prisoner  of  the  tomb?"  said  a  cautious  voice.  "Come 
forth  if  you  can  stand  upon  your  feet." 

"Dieu !  Dieu !"  muttered  Marson,  stumbling  forward 
like  a  drunken  man  till  he  stood  in  the  cleared  entrance. 
He  was  shaking  with  excitement,  and  overcome  by  an 
extraordinary  weakness  that  he  had  never  felt  through 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       305 

the  whole  of  his  imprisonment.     The  revulsion  from  de- 
spair to  joy  had  been  too  much  for  his  exhausted  body. 

He  took  deep  inhalations  and  looked  up  at  the  sky, 
strength  and  hope  streaming  into  him  as  he  breathed. 

"Water!  Give  me  water,  and  bread  if  you  have  it," 
were  his  first  words.  He  was  given  bread/ and  to  drink 
out  of  a  small  flask  of  weak  aniseed  and  water  specially 
provided  to  fortify  him. 

While  alternately  he  ate  and  drank,  and  lifting  his 
face  to  the  sky  continued  to  breathe  in  deeply  the  over- 
powering, priceless  air  of  freedom,  AH  and  his  friends 
carried  the  bound  men  into  the  tomb,  then  tumbled  the 
stones  and  rocks  pell  mell  into  the  doorway. 

"Come  my  brother,"  said  Ali  in  a  low  voice.  "We 
must  ride  far  before  sunrise." 

"You  have  horses?     Good,  for  I  am  still  very  lame." 

"Lame?  Have  you  always  been  lame?"  said  Ali, 
amazed. 

"No,  they  tortured  me." 

"They  tortured  him,"  repeated  one  to  the  other, 
breathlessly.  "Hanna  knew  nothing  of  this." 

Not  without  difficulty  and  help  was  Marson  able  to 
reach  the  tethered  beasts  on  the  off-side  of  the  hill.  Once 
in  the  saddle  he  was  a  new  man.  As  they  rode  forward 
together  he  felt  very  near  to  safety,  and  yet  only  safe  as 
long  as  the  darkness  endured.  Yet  the  confident  bearing 
of  the  Bedouins  did  not  alter  with  the  daylight,  and  with 
every  hour  that  passed  he  was  conscious  that  the  danger 
of  any  pursuit  diminished. 

Veronica  would  have  had  pains  to  recognize  Pierre 
had  they  suddenly  come  face  to  face.  A  thick  black 
beard  straggled  over  his  chest,  his  hair  was  long  and  un- 
kempt. His  cheeks  were  hollowed  and  the  clear  bronzed 


306        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

skin  of  his  face  had  paled  to  the  sickly  hue  of  those  long 
shut  out  from  the  sunshine.  And  his  eyes  once  so  keen 
and  bright  shone  with  a  curiously  disturbing  light,  the 
look  of  one  who  had  faced  under  terrible  odds  both  mental 
and  physical  torture. 

Yet,  wrapped  in  an  abbai,  and  his  head  muffled  by  a 
keffiyeh,  he  differed  in  outward  appearance  scarcely  a 
jot  from  his  companions. 

By  degrees  he  learnt  the  story  of  all  that  had  happened 
to  the  Severin  family  since  his  arrest  in  the  lane.  Pierre 
could  scarcely  contain  himself  upon  hearing  of  Veron- 
ica's constant  great  peril,  and  the  events  leading  to  her 
rescue. 

"Then  that  devil  incarnate  told  me  the  naked  truth," 
he  ruminated.  "My  precious  girl  was  at  that  moment 
in  his  clutches.  If  I  had  known  neither  stones  nor  mor- 
tar could  have  held  me  back  from  flying  at  his  throat." 

One  instant  he  exulted  in  the  fact  of  Kosen's  swift 
retribution,  the  next  he  would  be  savage  at  being  balked 
of  his  share — the  biggest  share — of  vengeance. 

Best  and  secure  shelter  came  to  him  in  the  Bedouin 
camp.  In  a  day  or  two  he  neither  felt  nor  looked  like 
the  same  man.  It  was  like  a  real  resurrection  from  the 
tomb. 

John  Culver  came  back  in  another  two  days  with  the 
great  news  of  the  encampment  on  Jebel  Moussa,  and  bear- 
ing a  little  letter  from  Veronica,  who  had  never  doubted 
of  her  lover's  rescue.  The  warm  throbbing  heart  with 
which  she  had  written  was  revealed  in  every  line. 
Pierre  read  and  re-read  the  letter  a  few  dozen  times  for- 
getting all  the  torments  of  his  captivity.  Every  detail 
that  John  Culver  could  relate  he  asked  him  to  repeat  a 
score  of  times  over. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        307 

There  was  no  course  for  him  to  take  but  that  of  se- 
cretly making  his  way  to  Jebel  Moussa.  Yet  first,  said 
John  Culver,  his  strength  must  be  recuperated.  He 
must  go  there  to  be  a  support,  not  an  added  anxiety. 

By  the  time  Pierre,  with  Ali  for  guide,  was  ready  to 
start  for  the  hill  of  refuge,  Veronica  had  settled  down 
to  a  routine  of  hourly  excitement,  and  the  hardest  work 
of  her  life.  The  fight  between  Turk  and  Armenian  had 
begun  in  earnest, 

At  first  the  Turks  under  their  usual  impression  that  a 
mere  handful  of  regular  troops  are  enough  to  hold  hun- 
dreds of  Kurds  or  Armenians  in  check,  attacked  disdain- 
fully with  but  a  hundred  troops.  These  were  easily  re- 
pulsed. They  returned  in  greater  numbers  and  this 
time  with  a  gun. 

The  first  intimation  of  this  danger  was  when  a  shell 
tore  screaming  overhead  and  exploded  in  a  corner  of  the 
encampment.  Then  another  and  still  another  worked 
cruel  ravage. 

"Come  quickly!  0  come  quickly,"  gasped  a  woman 
rushing  up  to  Veronica  who  was  helping  skillfully  to 
tend  and  bandage  the  injured  in  the  improvised  ambu- 
lance shelter.  "The  good  mother  has  been  cruelly  hurt 
in  trying  to  save  the  little  one." 

Veronica's  heart  leaped  and  then  seemed  to  stop  beat- 
ing, but  she  kept  her  presence  of  mind,  quietly  summon- 
ing another  helper  to  continue  her  task. 

"My  mother  is  hurt.  I  am  bound  to  go  to  her,"  she 
explained  while  hastily  putting  together  bandages  and 
other  appliances  she  might  need. 

Once  outside  the  shelter  she  ran  as  if  pursued  over  the 
ground  separating  her  from  their  own  tent.  A  group  at 
the  entrance  divided  to  let  her  pass  through. 


308        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

"Zia  has  not  even  a  scratch,"  said  a  voice,  reassur- 
ingly. All  these  people  enduring  and  resisting  heroically 
in  common  were  drawn  in  sympathy  together  by  the  same 
cords  of  feeling.  What  affected  one  member  touched 
many. 

In  a  moment  Veronica  was  kneeling  by  the  stricken 
form  of  her  mother. 

"Light!  Give  me  more  light,"  she  called  back 
agitatedly  to  those  who  darkened  the  entrance. 

"Keep  a  brave  heart,  cherie!  I  am  in  no  pain," 
whispered  Anna  Severin,  opening  her  eyes  for  a  moment. 
Her  chest  and  shoulder  were  soaked  in  blood.  It  seemed 
to  Veronica's  horrified  eyes  there  was  blood  everywhere. 

"Tell  Amina  to  come  here,"  she  said,  looking  round 
again,  and  then  at  once  with  deft  tender  touch  setting 
to  work  to  examine  the  nature  of  the  wounds. 

"Let  me  alone,  dear  heart!  You  can  do  nothing. 
This  is  the  end.  I  always  knew  the  Turks  would  one  day 
cause  my  death,"  said  Anna,  slowly.  "I  leave  my  Zia 
to  your  charge.  You  will  be  a  mother  to  her. ' ' 

"All  my  life,"  said  Veronica,  firmly,  "but  I  entreat 
you  to  let  me  try  and  ease  you  my  precious  mother." 
She  tried  hard  to  control  her  voice,  but  paused,  overcome 
for  a  second.  Again  she  asked  for  Amina  with  a  sharp 
new  note  of  fear  in  her  accent. 

Nobody  gave  any  answer  at  all,  then  an  old  woman 
entered  and  came  up  to  her. 

' '  I  will  be  your  servant.  Amina  has  been  struck  down 
like  her  mistress.  Ai !  The  poor  soul  is  quite  done  for. 
She  was  going  to  fetch  you  and  her  doom  met  her  on  the 
way." 

"Where  is  the  child?"  asked  Veronica,  hoarsely. 

"Safe!" 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT       309 

"Yes,  the  good  God  be  thanked,  I  was  able  to  preserve 
her  from  harm/'  murmured  Mme.  Severin.  "My  poor 
faithful  Amina!  She  is  not  suffering." 

Just  then  Pastor  Kasbarian  entered  the  tent. 

"My  daughter,  we  are  all  in  God's  hands,"  he  said 
with  a  break  in  his  harsh  voice.  He  stood  over  his  cousin 
speechless  at  first,  then  getting  down  upon  his  knees  he 
began  solemnly  to  recite  the  appropriate  prayers  of  his 
church. 

Veronica,  after  doing  all  that  was  possible  at  this 
juncture,  held  her  mother's  hand,  looking  fixedly  into 
her  face.  The  shadows  already  growing  there  were  un- 
mistakable. Mme.  Severin  was  sinking  rapidly. 

"Break  the  news  gently  to  Nicholas,"  she  said  with 
difficulty.  "He  has  always  been  the  best  son  in  the 
world." 

Veronica's  head  bent  low  to  hide  the  quick  onrush  of 
scalding  tears.  She  kissed  her  mother's  hands. 

' '  And  my  Vronka !  No  mother  has  been  more  blessed 
in  her  children, ' '  murmured  the  failing  voice. 

The  din  of  firing  had  suddenly  ceased.  Only  the 
shouts  of  distant  voices,  and  the  confused  hubbub  of 
sounds  that  arise  from  a  multitude  compressed  into  a 
small  area,  came  to  the  ear. 

The  camp  defenders  at  their  wits'  end  to  check  the 
ravages  of  the  gun  had  resorted  to  strategy.  A  clever 
sharp  shooter  among  them  had  stolen  undetected  through 
the  brushwood  until  he  was  so  near  he  could  hear  the 
Turkish  gunners  talking.  From  his  hiding  place  he  shot 
down  one  of  them,  and  very  soon  with  five  bullets  had 
laid  low  four  more. 

Vainly  the  Turks  beat  the  bushes  to  discover  the  enemy 
marksman.  In  a  fury  at  their  failure  the  captain  gave 


310        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

the  order  to  withdraw  the  gun  to  a  distance.  The  camp 
was  left  in  peace  that  day  and  several  days  to  come. 

Suddenly  Pastor  Kasbarian  was  called  for  from  with- 
out the  tent.  He  got  up  not  knowing  what  fresh  urgent 
appeal  of  duty  was  upon  him.  A  stir  of  voices  followed 
his  exit  and  then  a  new  silence. 

Shortly  he  reentered  the  tent  followed  by  two  men. 
The  one  who  had  bared  his  head  was  Pierre  Marson. 
The  other,  Ali,  his  guide  and  companion,  was  weeping 
unrestrainedly  for  the  new  calamity  that  had  befallen 
his  friends. 

Veronica,  her  whole  soul  engrossed  in  her  mother  alone, 
at  one  moment  moistening  the  parched  lips,  and  the  next 
tenderly  wiping  the  death  dew  from  the  pallid  brow, 
neither  stirred  nor  looked  round.  Pastor  Kasbarian 
bent  over  her  whispering  in  her  ear.  Pierre  then  knelt 
without  a  word  close  beside  her,  put  his  arm  round  her 
waist  and  held  her  closely. 

For  an  instant  she  turned  her  head  with  an  unfathom- 
able look  of  anguish  in  her  eyes  and  leaning  heavily 
against  the  encircling  arm  seemed  on  the  point  of  col- 
lapse. Then  forcibly  controlling  herself  her  whole  figure 
stiffened,  her  face  sank  to  her  mother  and  she  kissed  her 
with  all  her  soul. 

The  deep  set  eyes  of  Anna  Severin  suddenly  opened 
wide,  and  shone  with  peculiar  luster  as  they  looked  from 
Pierre  to  Veronica. 

"Now  I  can  die  in  peace,"  she  said  in  a  clear  voice. 
She  took  their  hands  and  put  them  one  in  the  other. 
1 '  Thus  united  you  must  always  be,  and  love  and  care  for 
each  other  as  long  as  your  hearts  beat. ' ' 

"To  eternity,"  said  Pierre,  fervently,  bending  over 
her  hand. 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        311 

"Do  not  let  my  Zia  see  me  like  this.  She  is  so  sensi- 
tive. The  memory  would  cling  to  her. ' ' 

"Zia  shall  always  be  our  first  care,"  said  Pierre. 
"Till  Nicholas  claims  her  she  shall  be  like  my  own 
daughter. ' ' 

' '  Keep  a  brave  heart, ' '  she  whispered  again.  ' '  Escape 
is  assured.  You  will  all  win  freedom  and  go  back  to  our 
dear  France.  A  little  longer  yet.  It  is  ordained — I  can 
see  it  plainly."  Her  voice  was  still  fainter.  As  the 
light  faded  out  of  her  eyes  they  took  on  the  look  of  one 
who  sees  dimly  into  a  mystic  distance,  hidden  from  those 
still  on  earth. 

Again  she  smiled  at  them  all,  and  pressed  Veronica's 
hand.  "Andreas,  my  husband!"  she  called  suddenly. 
"He  is  here." 

Then,  stirring  lightly  she  passed  out  of  this  life  of 
strife  with  the  gentle  sigh  of  one  tired  and  gladly  falling 
upon  sleep. 

The  brave  Armenian  fighters  on  that  mountain  top  not 
only  successfully  defied  the  Turkish  army  but  kept  it  at 
bay  for  weeks.  After  the  bombardment  had  failed  the 
enemy  prepared  an  attack  in  force  by  three  thousand 
regular  troops.  They  forced  a  passage  to  the  summit  of 
the  ridge,  where  they  pushed  along  until  only  a  deep 
ravine  separated  them  from  the  refugee  camp. 

Night  fell  too  soon  for  them  to  complete  their  victory. 
The  Turks  with  their  usual  fatalism  and  procrastination 
ceased  their  advance  never  dreaming  that  the  Christians 
would  be  courageous  enough  to  attack  them  before  day- 
break. 

The  lights  of  the  Armenian  camps  were  all  ex- 
tinguished while  the  leaders  hastily  constructed  a  dar- 


312        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

ing  plan  to  confound  the  foe.  This  was  to  surround  the 
Turks  while  they  slept,  startle  them  with  a  rapid  dis- 
charge of  musketry,  and  then  fall  upon  them  in  a  fierce 
man  to  man  conflict. 

Every  rock,  stone  and  by-path  of  Jebel  Moussa  was 
familiar  to  the  Armenians.  They  scaled  the  hill  on  all 
sides  without  awakening  the  least  alarm.  A  signal 
started  the  firing.  Nothing  at  all  was  haphazard  for 
they  could  not  afford  to  lose  a  single  cartridge.  Every 
bullet  had  to  find  its  mark.  In  quick  space  of  time 
that  ravine  was  filled  with  terror  to  the  Turkish  soldiers 
as  with  the  energy  lent  by  desperation  every  man  sprang 
upon  the  foe. 

Vainly  the  officers  rallied  their  troops.  The  mischief 
was  done.  Disordered  and  demoralized  they  scrambled 
into  safety  as  best  they  could.  Before  the  dawn  the 
woods  were  empty  but  for  the  corpses  of  two  hundred 
Turks  and  a  large  harvest  of  ammunition  badly  needed 
by  the  Armenians. 

When  the  Turks  came  back  after  the  lapse  of  several 
days  it  was  with  a  large  body  of  many  more  thousand 
than  before,  but  it  was  not  to  fight  this  time,  only  to 
surround  the  hill  and  starve  the  insurgents  into  sur- 
render. 

"A  cordon  is  formed.  They  are  blockading  us,"  was 
the  first  notice  brought  into  the  camp  by  one  of  the 
scouts.  "They  want  to  see  us  starved  to  the  point  at 
which  they  will  be  certain  of  an  easy  walk-over,"  said 
one  of  the  leaders.  "They  wish  to  save  their  own  skins 
whatever  the  result  to  us.  We  will  beat  them  by  the 
might  of  God's  own  justice." 

A  true  prophecy,  for  the  story  of  their  gallant  struggle 
against  such  terrible  odds  with  their  backs  to  the  sea 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        313 

has  become  history  to  be  recorded  to  all  ages  as  one  of  the 
most  heroic  achievements  of  a  brave,  much  enduring  race. 
To  relate  all  the  details  would  fill  another  book. 

A  month  passed  by.  Through  husbanding  their  pro- 
visions they  had  all  managed  to  subsist.  They  calculated 
that  with  care  they  might  still  carry  on  for  another 
fortnight,  but  after  that  starvation  lurked  ahead. 

It  was  particularly  at  that  time  they  began  to  look 
to  the  sea  as  a  means  of  escape.  The  outlook  over  the 
Mediterranean  had  from  the  outset  suggested  possibili- 
ties of  freedom,  instilling  courage  into  the  souls  of  not  -a 
few. 

"There  is  hope  in  the  sea  but  no  hope  in  the  grave," 
said  one  to  the  other,  though  many  an  old  person  of  the 
multitude  had  never  before  clapped  eyes  on  the  sea. 
For  their  closer  comfort  they  held  stoutly  to  the  ancient 
Armenian  proverb,  "In  every  city  of  the  East  I  find  a 
home. ' ' 

Confident  in  the  hope  of  escaping  by  the  sea  they  pre- 
pared three  copies  of  an  appeal  to  the  captain  of  any 
passing  vessel.  It  was  a  veritable  S.O.S.  appeal  ad- 
dressed to  any  English,  French,  Italian,  or  Kussian  ad- 
miral or  captain,  in  the  name  of  God  and  of  human 
brotherhood.  It  described  how  the  people  of  six  villages, 
some  five  thousand  souls  in  all,  in  escaping  from  Turkish 
barbarity  had  resisted  week  by  week  the  attacks  and 
blockade  of  a  large  army.  They  begged  to  be  trans- 
ported to  Cyprus  or  elsewhere,  declaring  that  wherever 
they  were  taken  they  would  never  be  idle  but  work  hard 
for  their  bread.  The  appeal  was  signed  by  the 
Protestant  pastor  of  Zeitoun,  Dikran  Andreassian. 

To  three  of  the  best  swimmers  of  the  camp  was  given 
the  task  of  watching  the  sea  with  the  object  of  at  once 


3  H        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

plunging  through  the  breakers  and  doing  their  best  to 
gain  the  side  of  the  first  ship  that  went  by. 

But  many  days  went  by  and  no  ship  came  into  sight. 
Then  at  the  pastor 's  advice  the  women  made  two  immense 
flags.  They  were  white,  and  on  one  was  painted  in 
great  black  letters,  "Christians  in  distress!  Help!" 
while  the  other  was  decorated  with  a  large  red  cross. 

Food  and  ammunition  dwindled  fearsomdy.  The 
Turks  clamored  for  their  surrender.  The  days  were  all 
heavy  with  anxiety  and  the  nights  very  long. 

For  Veronica  and  Pierre  they  were  wonderful  andi 
memorable  days.  Not  days  for  softness  and  the  dallying 
of  lovers  at  all,  but  for  mutual  support  of  strong  hearts 
and  a  boundless  trust  through  hours  of  unmitigated 
stress.  A  passionate  zest  marked  their  every  action. 
Busied  with  one  sufferer  and  the  other,  as  well  as  per- 
forming the  part  of  a  true  mother  to  little  Zia,  Veronica 
was  swept  along  by  the  energy  of  a  divine  altruism  that 
focussed  every  impulse  and  passion  of  her  loyal  soul. 

More  and  more  Pierre  Marson  grew  to  appreciate  at  its 
highest  worth  the  magnificent  pluck  that  had  kept  her 
spirit  living  and  unafraid  under  trials,  peril,  and  a  great 
bereavement  that  would  have  crushed  to  annihilation 
many  a  weaker  soul.  Always  he  hoped  that  to  a  French 
ship  would  come  the  honor  and  the  glory  of  rescuing  this 
remnant  of  his  sweetheart's  brave,  hard  driven  race.  It 
was  a  happiness  that  actually  materialized  for  him  on 
the  53rd  day  of  the  siege. 

The  French  cruiser  Guichen  perceiving  the  signals  of 
the  S.O.S.  flags  and  at  once  understanding  their  mean- 
ing, drew  near  enough  to  the  shore  for  the  swimmers  to 
approach  with  their  appeal.  A  wireless  to  the  admiral 
of  the  fleet  brought  other  men  of  war  to  the  spot.  The 


LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT        315 

Turks  were  bombarded  till  they  fled  far  from  the  moun- 
tain and  rescue  could  begin. 

Under  conditions  of  stupendous  difficulties  and  danger 
— for  the  sea  was  very  rough — the  people  were  conveyed 
to  the  ships  on  rafts  that  had  to  be  specially  constructed. 
Prodigies  of  valor  and  resourcefulness  were  displayed 
by  the  French  sailors.  From  morning  till  late  into  the 
night  the  embarkations  continued  until  the  wonder  was 
performed  of  shipping  old  men,  women  and  children 
without  a  single  accident. 

At  last  the  strand  was  emptied.  Only  the  men  re- 
mained on  the  hill  top  fighting  to  hold  the  enemy  at  a 
distance.  Of  these  one  may  be  sure  that  Pierre  Marson 
was  not  the  least  daring  and  valiant.  What  the  women, 
in  safety  themselves,  suffered  during  that  night,  their 
hearts  sick  with  this  latest  suspense  of  waiting  for  the 
final  rescues,  is  not  easily  described.  Uncertainty  and 
dread  combined  with  the  knowledge  of  her  own  helpless- 
ness to  avert  any  new  stroke  of  a  pitiless  destiny  com- 
pletely prostrated  Veronica. 

However,  at  last  the  night  passed  away  and  with  the 
dawn  came  courage  and  hope.  The  ship  guns  swept  the 
heights  with  their  fire  while  on  the  beach  below,  divided 
into  groups  of  twenty,  the  last  of  the  men  were  success- 
fully embarked. 

They  had  prepared  a  huge  pile  of  wood  on  which  every- 
thing had  been  placed  that  they  were  unable  to  carry 
away.  The  last  to  leave  set  fire  to  the  wood.  The  giant 
bonfire  was  flaming  and  smoking  like  a  funeral  pyre 
while  the  French  warships  steamed  away  towards  Egypt 
with  their  living  cargo — all  saved  by  the  grace  of  God. 

A  few  days  after  landing  at  Alexandria  Veronica  and 


316        LOVE  AND  THE  CRESCENT 

Pierre  were  married,  first  at  the  French  Consulate,  and 
then  by  Pastor  Kasbarian  at  the  Armenian  church. 
Later  they  embarked  for  France  on  one  of  the  first 
steamers  that  carried  refugees  to  Marseilles.  Little  Zia 
of  course  went  with  them.  Deprived  at  one  blow  of  the 
love  of  her  grandmother  and  nurse  she  had  soon  re- 
sponded unreservedly  to  Veronica's  devoted  care,  giving 
her  unstinted  affection,  and  growing  steadily  stronger 
in  health. 

It  was  not  until  a  year  later  that  Nicholas  Severin, 
taken  prisoner  on  the  Palestine  Front  by  the  British, 
was  able  to  get  into  touch  with  his  family,  and  hear  the 
sad  news  of  his  mother's  tragic  death. 

That  his  share,  and  also  that  of  Veronica  and  Pierre, 
in  the  great  War  was  not  over  then  is  understood.  With 
natures  such  as  theirs  one  solemn  obligation  but  paves 
the  road  to  others.  With  eyes  fixed  unswervingly  on  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  freedom  and  liberty  and  justice  they 
never  ceased  to  contribute  all  in  their  power  to  help  on 
the  great  work  with  the  whole  of  their  native  pluck  and 
endurance. 


THE  END 


Ill 

A    000040396    4 


